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BY FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES 













By Force of 
Circumstances 

BY 

GORDON HOLMES f> - - ■ 

Author of “ The Late Tenant , ’ ’ “ The Arncliffe Puzzle, " 
“ A Mysterious Disappearance ’* 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

EDWYN CHAMBERS 


New York 

Edward J. Clode 

Publisher 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Tv/o Copies Received 

FEB 13 1809 

^ Copyrlgnt Entry 
CLASS XXc. No. 


Copyright, xgog, 

By EDWARD J. CLODE 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Circumstances 1 

II. Showing How the Circumstances De- 

jp. 

VELOPED 19 


III. 

Wherein the Circumstances 

Reveal 



Their Force . . . . 

. 


38 

IV. 

The Circumstances Take a Stride 


60 

V. 

The Circumstances Become Involved 


77 

VI. 

Dark Footsteps 



99 

VII. 

The Lease of the Abbey 



121 

VIII. 

Mr. Bagot’s House 



143 

IX. 

Pursued ! 



168 

X. 

Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 


193 

XI. 

Trapped ! 



216 

XII. 

Light in Darkness . 



240 

XIII. 

At Close Quarters . 



264 

XIV. 

Bagot’s Ebb Tide 



282 

XV. 

Wherein Furneaux Thinks 

He Has 



Caught Bagot 



302 

XVI. 

Bagot’s Flight . . . . 



322 


iii 



\A 


BY FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES 


CHAPTER I. 


I 


THE CIRCUMSTANCES 

HOPE you will like the wine, sir. It is the 
best I could get from the Bush .” 

“ Good wine needs no bush, Jenkins.” 

“ Well, sir, it’s a better house than the Three Tuns , 
an’ the brand is all right if so be as the label is 
genu-ine.” 

The young man seated at the dining-table laughed 
pleasantly. On no account would he hurt the feel- 
ings of the elderly servitor, half butler, half care- 
taker, who had provided the feast for his home- 
coming. 

“ I am sure the claret is excellent, Jenkins,” Ke 
said. “ It tastes like the nectar of the gods to-night. 
Only by contrast can one learn to appreciate the 
good things of life. You hardly realize, I suppose, 
that many a time during the past two years I have 
been glad to scoop a tinful of water from a shallow 
puddle stirred into mud-soup by horses and bul- 
locks?” 

“ No, sir,” said Jenkins solemnly. 


By Force of Circumstances 

The diner began to carve a roast fowl. A puzzled 
smile lurked in the corners of his mouth. 

“ Why are you so serious, Jenkins? ” he asked. 

“ Serious, sir? ” 

“ Well, then, how shall I put it? — so dignified, re- 
mote, confoundedly respectful? In a word, have you 
forgotten my name? ” 

“ No, sir. You will always be Master Arthur to 
me an’ your nurse. But now you be Mr. Leigh, of 
the Abbey Manor, an’ we try to remember it, because 
people do be so funny when we talk as if you were 
still the boy who stole the parson’s peaches, an’ nearly 
spoiled Farmer Bacon’s cart foal by lamin’ him to 
jump fences.” 

Seldom did Jenkins unbend so thoroughly. De- 
spite his grave air, Arthur Leigh knew that this 
friend of his youth was deeply stirred. 

“ Ah, me ! ” he sighed, “ the happiest days come 
first; don’t they, Jenkins? Yet it seems but yester- 
day that I ran away from the Abbey. And you don’t 
look an hour older. Deuce of a row I had with my 
grandfather that morning, eh? I was never so sur- 
prised in my life as when the lawyers wrote and told 
me he was dead, and that I was his heir. How did 
they keep track of me? Did he relent before the 
end? ” 

Jenkins evidently found difficulty in expressing 
himself. He coughed once or twice in vain effort to 
bring forth words that hesitated. 

“ Mr. Leigh mentioned your name, sir, to be sure, 

2 


The Circumstances 

but — er — not exactly — that is — you remember his 
peculiar way, sir? ” 

“ Kept up the appearance of a fight to a finish — 
is that it ? ” 

44 Just what I wanted to say, sir.” 

“ Odd ! I wonder what the old boy had in his 
mind ? By gad, do you think he made a mistake, and 
left the wrong will lying about? Jenkins — you don’t 
mean to say you burnt the parchment that disinher- 
ited me ? ” 

46 No, sir.” 

The disavowal came so promptly, in the orthodox 
tone of the well-trained servant, that Arthur Leigh 
laughed again. 

46 Good job nobody else has a shadow of a claim on 
the property,” he said cheerily. 44 At best, or worst, 
from my point of view, he could only have devised it 
to some institution. Now, I want you to tell me some- 
thing. I am five years older than I was on the day 
the Abbey doors closed on me. I can take a calmer 
view of things. In any event, I would refuse to har- 
bor animosity against a dead man, who, with all 
his faults, made amends for his harshness. Tell me, 
then — why did my grandfather hate my mother? ” 

44 1 have always understood, sir, that the religious 
question was the cause of the whole thing.” 

Jenkins was on firmer ground now. The reply 
came readily enough. 

44 Are you sure? You were here before my father’s 
marriage. Was there any dispute at that time? ” 

3 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 None whatsoever, sir. It was them blessed dogs, 
an 5 cats, an’ rabbits. Old Mr. Leigh would turn 
ag’in anybody who opposed him there. Even in his 
dyin’ hour he refused to send for the vicar. Your 
mother was a dear, good lady. Many’s the time I’ve 
seen her weepin’ on account of the dreadful things 
he would say ” 

44 Yes, I know,” broke in Leigh hurriedly. 44 1 am 
sorry I mentioned the matter. But it is hard to 
realize that in these modern days a man would em- 
bitter his whole life and cast off those who were near 
and dear to him simply because they could not share 
his outlandish views. Did he hold fast to the 4 trans- 
migration of souls theory ’ to the end ? ” 

44 Bless your heart, sir, we have over ninety ani- 
miles penned up in the stables at this minnit. There 
were one hundred an’ fifteen of ’em on the day of his 
funeral. People came from all parts to gaze at ’em, 
an’ a rare row there was when Mrs. Stokes saw the 
hutch of a one-eyed tom cat labeled with her hus- 
band’s name. She broke the door with her umbrella, 
an’ the cat flew at her. We have never set eyes on 
him since.” 

44 But if I remember rightly, the cat’s behavior 
somewhat resembled that of the late lamented 
Stokes ? ” 

44 So everybody said, sir, an’ that made Mrs. Stokes 
carry on wuss. Her langwidge about that cat was 
somethink dreadful.” 

44 Who looks after these creatures now? ” 


4 


The Circumstances 

“ Two men are specially paid, sir. I have me 
doubts -about some of the rabbits and a cat or two. 
Leastways, it’s funny that far more dogs should die 
than cats or rabbits. You see, the men have a soft 
job, sir.” 

“ Who pays them? ” 

“ Messrs. Mowle and Mowle, sir. The cheque 
comes regular every month.” 

“ I suppose I must humor my grandfather’s 
wishes,” said Leigh thoughtfully, “ but I shall take 
most particular care that the laws of mortality are 
not interfered with in future. These keepers must be 
watched, and admitted only when others are present. 
After dinner I shall walk round and have a look at 
the menagerie. When are the poor brutes exer- 
cised? ” 

“ The dogs get an outing or two in the week, sir, 
but the cats an’ rabbits remain in their hutches.” 

“ Well, of all the ridiculous nonsense — But, there ! 
I lost my temper years ago on that subject. Any 
letters, Jenkins? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

Leigh glanced at his correspondence while Jen- 
kins was bringing in another course. A few former 
acquaintances in the neighborhood wrote to con- 
gratulate him on his safe return from the South 
African War. Enterprising tradesmen sent circu- 
lars from the neighboring towns of Bridgewater and 
Burnham. A job-master at Bristol was anxious to 
equip him with carriages and horses. A London 
5 


By Force of Circumstances 

tailor offered to despatch a 44 representative ” with 
a tape-measure and patterns of summer suiting, 44 on 
receipt of instructions,” and, with the rest, came a 
bulky package from Mowle and Mowle, the family 
solicitors. 

44 My arrival in England must have been trump- 
eted far and wide,” said Leigh. 44 Apparently, I 
have become quite an important person, Jenkins. 
Yesterday, in London, an ex-trooper of Paget’s 
Horse, to-day in Somersetshire I am a country gen- 
tleman. A quick change, eh? Reminds me of 
De Wet.” 

44 It was in the papers, sir,” explained the butler. 
44 It’s wonderful how news spreads in these days.” 

Leigh opened the lawyer’s missive. It contained 
two typewritten documents and a cheque. He exam- 
ined the latter and laughed gayly. 

44 Four hundred and fifty pounds ! ” he cried. 44 By 
Jove, I have never seen so much money before. I 
thought I was doing well when I received forty 
pounds of deferred pay from the War Office, and a 
hundred on account from the Mowles — but this is a 
small fortune. How much does the estate bring in 
yearly, Jenkins ? ” 

44 1 don’t rightly know, sir. Folks used to say it 
was six or seven thousand, but that was when farm 
rents were higher. Didn’t the solicitors tell you all 
about it, sir? ” 

44 No. They were rather hazy. Said I might have 
a hundred at once, and they would write full details 
6 


The Circumstances 


to the Abbey. Here they are, I fancy. But they 
can wait until I have had a look round. The old 
place does not seem to have changed an atom. Some 
of the shrubs are bigger, perhaps — some of the trees 
a trifle more stately. The greatest change is in my- 
self, I suppose? 99 

44 Well, sir, I must say that South Africa hasn’t 
done you any harm. You look the picture of health 
and strength. Mrs. Jenkins said when she saw you — 
bein’ a woman, sir, an’ your own nuss so to speak — 
she said ” 

46 Come now, Jenkins. Out with it. What did 
Eliza say ? ” 

46 She gev it as her opinion, sir, that you’d have 
the pick of the county when you looked for a wife.” 

44 Jenkins, you must repress her. She is a born 
matchmaker. I have not been in the Abbey an hour 
before she has me married and done for. How does 
she know I have not made my choice already ? ” 

44 Oh, of course, sir ” 

44 Tell her to rest easy. If I break my neck on 
Exmoor after the North Devon staghounds this sum- 
mer no young lady’s heart will suffer. To-morrow, 
when I go through my kit, I shall show her some pic- 
tures of Kaffir beauty, and she will realize that I am 
a tough subject.” 

Leigh swept his letters into a heap, drank his cof- 
fee, and lit a cigar. Then he walked to the fine win- 
dow that gave access to a spacious balcony. He 
stood there many minutes, and might well be pardoned 
7 


By Force of Circumstances 

if he yielded to the pride of ownership, for his eyes 
dwelt on a fair domain. 

The old-fashioned house occupied the site of a long- 
forgotten Benedictine Abbey. Carved stones built 
into the rubble were silent witnesses of the ruins 
which a Georgian builder had not scrupled to bring 
into fresh service. One ancient wall, retained in its 
entirety, flanked the rose-garden that had supplanted 
the cloisters. A great mound, clothed in ferns and 
rock-plants, and surmounted by a flagstaff, was re- 
puted to be all that was left of an earlier dwelling 
destroyed by Cromwell. For the rest, the quiet taste 
of the early eighteenth century had utilized a singu- 
larly beautiful rock-spur on the extreme west of Pol- 
den Hill to construct a home-like, comfortable man- 
sion. The gardens, originally planned in the Italian 
style, were garnished with the restful foliage of Eng- 
lish trees and shrubs. Flowers rioted there. On this 
June evening the very air was heavy with their 
fragrance. 

The Abbey Manor and its grounds filled the whole 
of a tiny plateau of three acres. The front of the 
house faced southwest. From the elevated perch of 
the balcony the eye traveled over the valley of the 
Parret, with sleepy Bridgewater lying at the head 
of its estuary, and the Black Down Hills closing the 
horizon. To the right, beyond an arable plain, the 
blue waters of the Bristol Channel gleamed in the 
rays of the setting sun. On the left, the pastoral 
lands that formed the manor stretched far into the 


8 


The Circumstances 

heart of a country famed for the placid beauty of 
its vistas. Behind the house, sheltering it from the 
north and east, rose a dense plantation of firs; a 
typical Somerset orchard nestled below the lawns and 
flower gardens, and an outer belt of woodland girdled 
the house and pleasure-grounds. 

Thus, the 44 Abbey,” as it was known in the famil- 
iar parlance of the locality, was completely isolated. 
Even the carriage-road was hidden by elms and dense 
undergrowth, and climbed the ridge of rock on which 
the mansion stood by a steep gradient. A wide and 
straight main road, leading from Burnham to Bridge- 
water, passed through the wood beneath, yet, so cun- 
ningly was the idea of concealment carried out, that 
no lodge attracted the attention of passers-by. A 
well-kept drive, high-banked with laurels and rhodo- 
dendrons, curved off among the trees, while a con- 
spicuous notice informed all and sundry that this 
was a 44 Private Road.” From the railway, half a 
mile distant, or the winding Parret, another mile to 
the westward, the Abbey Manor and its background 
of firs were boldly outlined against the sky, but many 
thousands of tourists traversed the coast road during 
the summer months without the least suspicion that 
they had passed so close to a noteworthy residence. 

The privacy thus secured was enhanced by sections 
of unscalable rock linked by steep brick walls that 
bristled with broken glass. Were not this ceinture 
shrouded by a wealth of well-grown timber, the Abbey 
might have borne some semblance of a prison. But 
9 


By Force of Circumstances 

skill in forestry and landscape gardening had pre- 
vented any such defect. The defensive works, viewed 
from the higher level of the gardens, merely consti- 
tuted a paradise of wall-fruit, wherein peaches, nec- 
tarines, cherries, and figs, and the rarest varieties of 
plums and apples were not only shielded from inclem- 
ent winds, but basked in every hour of sunshine. 

Arthur Leigh descended to the croquet-lawn by a 
broad flight of steps. This lawn was the first of 
three broad ribands of turf that ran parallel to the 
front of the house. The second, a narrower strip, 
was a bowling green, and the third held a full-sized 
lawn-tennis court. Below the last was situated the 
rose-garden. These terraces were so deftly gradu- 
ated that all were visible from the dwelling-rooms 
and balcony, though each was shielded from its neigh- 
bors by creeper-laden pergolas and groups of ever- 
greens. To the left of the croquet-lawn stood the 
flagstaff mound, its base shrouded with azaleas and 
many species of flowering shrubs. A path passing 
between the mound and the house led to the stables, 
which adjoined the main courtyard and carriage 
entrance at the rear. 

It was in the mind of the man who had so unex- 
pectedly come into possession of this fairy -land that 
he would visit the stables while there was enough 
light to permit a close examination of his grand- 
father’s strange pets. He had actually turned into 
the path, and would have reached the back of the 
mansion speedily, had not a drooping branch of a 
10 


The Circumstances 

briar rose knocked his cigar out of his hand. He was 
looking at the flagstaff, and wondering what loyal 
instinct had moved Jenkins to hoist a Union Jack 
there in honor of his home-coming, and his next step 
crushed the cigar hopelessly. 

There is a Provensal legend that credits the briar 
family with uncanny knowledge of human affairs. 
Leigh had read of it, and attributed its origin to the 
close poetic association of roses and lovers — for the 
briar is the mother of all roses, and love is the only 
really serious affair in Provence. 

He remembered the pretty conceit afterwards, but 
he gave not the slightest thought to it then. Going 
back to the dining-room, he secured the case he had 
left on the table, and lighted another cigar. 

Jenkins happened to be in the room. With the 
privilege of an old servant, he was solicitous for his 
master’s welfare. 

66 1 wouldn’t be too far from the house, sir,” he 
said. “ We are in for a thunderstorm.” 

From the balcony Leigh looked to the bad-weather 
quarter, where the distant line of the Channel had 
shone so bright and blue a few minutes earlier. The 
water was almost black now, and a sullen bank of 
cloud was rising in the west. 

“ By Jove, I think you are right,” he cried. 
“ That explains the sultry feeling in the air. But I 
am only going to the stables. If a shower comes on, 
I can return by the courtyard.” 

The coloring in the landscape was so deepened 


11 


By Force of Circumstances 

and intensified by the cloud effect that he paused 
again to drink in its marvelous tints. A gust of 
cold air sighed up from the valley, and stirred the 
topmost branches of the giant elms into fretful life. 
The fir cones rustled uneasily. A blackbird flew the 
length of the bowling-green with startled clutter and 
hasty wings. Then brooding silence reigned again, 
and from the unseen road far beneath came the quick 
panting of a motor-car driven at high speed. 

It stopped suddenly. Leigh fancied that it had 
halted at the junction of the private road with the 
main thoroughfare. 

“ Someone coming here,” he said aloud. “ Now, 
who in the world can it be? ” 

A shrill scream answered him. A second time that 
ominous summons came from the leafy depths, and 
he was not one who could hear a woman’s plaint 
unmoved. 

“ There has been an accident on the highroad,” 
he shouted to Jenkins over his shoulder. “ Call some 
of the men.” 

Running down the steps and across the lawn, he 
heard the butler’s loud warning that the door leading 
from the rosery was locked. He waved a hand to 
show that he understood. Bars of iron and triple oak 
would not trouble him at all, unless some genius had 
discovered and destroyed his own particular means of 
eluding the vigilance of the Abbey’s guardians. 

From one of the side walls of the rose-gardens pro- 
jected a quaint gargoyle. Originally intended to 
12 


The Circumstances 

carry rain from the roof of a chapel, it had been 
placed by the eighteenth-century builder high in the 
wall as an ornament. It was a fearsome caricature of a 
Benedictine monk, through whose tremendous mouth 
many a shower must have spouted when the Abbey 
flourished. A stout ivy tree provided an excellent 
ladder to the gargoyle’s broad back. Thence it was 
an easy matter to gain the top of the wall, and a pon- 
derous oak, growing beyond the glass-crested bound- 
ary, threw one huge branch within reach. 

Many a time had Arthur Leigh used that airy pas- 
sage in his youth. It offered by far the speediest, 
because the most direct, means of entering or leav- 
ing the Abbey grounds. Even now, as he ran, he 
could see that the oak had not been lopped of that 
friendly arm. 

Jenkins, first giving the alarm in the servants’ 
quarters, hurried after his master with the key of the 
postern door, which opened directly on to the drive 
before it took a wide circuit through the rocks. 
But Leigh had vanished. The puzzled butler forced 
the lock with considerable difficulty, and hobbled 
after the gardeners who had rushed out at his 
cry. 

By that time the athletic owner of the Abbey 
Manor was crashing through the brushwood at the 
foot of the cliff. He knew each twist and turn of 
the oak’s great limbs and trunk, and dropped to the 
ground as safely as if he were speeding down a stair- 
case. Once among the trees, he took a bee-line, and 
13 


By Force of Circumstances 

was in the open highway before the first man from 
the servants’ hall had covered half the length of the 
drive. 

A somewhat unexpected sight met his eyes. 

Close to his feet on the grass at the side of the 
road, lay a lady’s bicycle. Some ten yards farther 
away stood a motor-car. A man in the leather uni- 
form of a chauffeur was making frantic efforts to 
re-start the engine. Apparently, if the rider of the 
bicycle were injured, she had been lifted into the 
limousine. 

44 Que diable, Gustave, why lose so much time?” 
cried a voice from the interior. 

44 Sacre nom d’un nom! 99 replied the wrathful Gus- 
tave, 44 the ignition has failed.” 

44 Off with the bonnet, then, and put it right,” 
came the ready order. 

Though the hidden speaker used fluent French, his 
accent was distinctly Anglo-Saxon. In fact, he was 
guilty of that excess in nasal sounds which marks the 
uneducated linguist, and Leigh was prepared to find 
some type of self-made man ensconced behind the 
glass front of the limousine. 

Taking a deep breath or two, he approached 
quietly, and looked through the near window, which 
was lowered. A man’s hand clenched the sash, but 
the owner was seated on the opposite side, and his 
rigid left arm seemed to keep prisoner a lady who 
occupied the seat nearer Leigh. At first glance, she 
appeared to be shrouded mysteriously, but fair mo- 
14 


The Circumstances 

torists in general find delight in arctic trappings, and 
Leigh looked at the man, not at the woman. 

46 Can I be of any assistance? ” he asked, in Eng- 
lish. 44 1 heard someone scream ” 

44 Mind your own business,” was the imperious 
retort. 

Leigh, vastly astonished, gazed into a pale, deter- 
mined face, a face that gave a fleeting impression of 
an actor or a barrister. He had no time to do more 
than note a pair of fierce eyes, a white brow, seamed 
with anger, and a mouth that set in a thin line of 
bloodless lips. At the sound of his voice Gustave 
sprang upright with an oath. The veiled lady, who 
was almost completely hidden by the angle of the 
limousine, uttered a choking cry and moved convul- 
sively, only to be penned against the back of the 
vehicle with a ruthless pressure of her companion’s 
elbow. 

Leigh’s blue eyes snapped back at the man who had 
answered so curtly. 

44 Why are you detaining that lady by force? ” 
he demanded. 44 1 insist on speaking to her before 
you leave this place. You must free her at once ” 

The hand on the door tightened even more firmly. 
The chauffeur quitted his engine. Evidently, he 
meant to interfere, but his employer checked him. 

44 Attend to your work, Gustave,” he said with a 
curious restraint. But he did not shift his glance 
from Leigh. 

44 If you are a wise man,” he went on, his calm 
15 


By Force of Circumstances 

tone being in marked contrast with his earlier 
brusqueness, “ you will go away. My business does 
not concern you.” 

“ But it does concern me,” said Leigh, with equal 
self-possession. 46 1 heard that lady scream, I tell 
you. She is trying now to communicate with me. I 

believe she is gagged and bound ” 

“Ah!” 

Had Arthur Leigh been one of the stay-at-home co- 
hort of country squires whose estates surrounded the 
Abbey Manor, he would most certainly have looked 
into the barrel of a revolver in the next instant. But 
fate and South Africa had cast him in a new mould. 
Too often had his life depended on that prior second 
of prompt decision that gives the trained soldier an 
advantage over his enemy. He drew back, it is true, 
but that was a mere feint. His left hand grasped 
the handle of the door, his right caught the sinewy 
wrist of the man whose menace he had forestalled, 
and, without more ado, he dragged the other head- 
long into the road. Heedless of the bellow of pain 
caused by the terrific wrench it was necessary to in- 
flict on his adversary’s arm, he closed with him with 
a quickness born of many a hand-to-hand fight on the 
veldt. Gustave came running, but Leigh had secured 
the revolver, and its cold muzzle was pressed behind 
his captive’s ear. 

“ Tell your man to keep off, for fear of conse- 
quences,” he said, grimly emphatic. 

“ Arretez-vouz, Gustave — la machine , je vous prie 
16 


The Circumstances 

— I will explain — let me go — God ! — you are dislo- 
cating my shoulder ! ” 

Leigh would have paid slight attention to these 
gasping entreaties had not the prisoner in the motor 
leaped, or thrown herself, bodily through the door. 
She stumbled and fell. Not only were her head and 
shoulders muffled in a heavy traveling rug, but her 
arms were tied. 

Hearing the oncoming rush of men from the house, 
Leigh relaxed the tension on an arm that he had 
twisted almost to breaking-point. Flinging his oppo- 
nent face downward in the dust, he stooped and 
clasped the shrinking woman round the waist, lifting 
her a few yards to the rear of the motor, where she 
would be out of harm’s way if a fight took place. 
The revolver was loaded, but he saw that the motor 
party would not face superior numbers, so he put the 
weapon in his pocket, and strove hastily to unwrap 
the plaid that was stifling his fair burthen. His 
face flamed with anger when he found that an ex- 
ceedingly pretty young woman had been gagged most 
brutally. 

By this time three sturdy gardeners had joined 
him, and were asking what had happened, but he 
could find no words for them until the cords that 
kept the gag in the girl’s mouth were loosed. Then, 
while she uttered a few incoherent words of thanks, 
he unfastened her arms. 

Somewhat to his amazement, she showed no sign 
of fright. Rather was she afire with indignation, and 
17 


By Force of Circumstances 

her first clearly-expressed desire was that her assail- 
ants should be captured. 

Leigh’s arm had encircled her slender and supple 
waist during the releasing of her bonds, but, seeing 
that she could stand without assistance, he turned 
to lead his cohort in combined attack on the lady’s 
would-be abductors. 

He was a few seconds too late. The chauffeur 
had persuaded the reluctant spark to come to life 
again, and the motor bounded forward in obedience 
to the lever. Leigh whipped out the revolver and 
fired at a tire. The bullet struck the rim, dented it, 
and glanced off on the wrong side. A second shot 
knocked off the axle cap, but before he could aim 
again the car was out of range. 

He looked round at the girl and smiled pleasantly. 

“ If we were in any country but England,” he 
said, “ those two bullets would have gone through the 
coupe on the off chance. But the rascals cannot 
escape. We have the number of the car. See! It 
is X Y 302 ! ” 


18 


CHAPTER II 


SHOWING HOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES DEVELOPED 

They watched the motor-car through its dust- 
clouds until it whirled round a bend in the road. 

44 If I had held your pistol,” said the girl, 44 my 
respect for British law and order would not have pre- 
vented me from shooting straight.” 

Leigh took the comment as being derogatory of his 
skill. 

44 It is not mine,” he explained. 44 The owner has 
just disappeared. One wants a little practice — if I 
had left it in his possession he might have done 
better.” 

44 But you shot splendidly — at the tire.” 

44 Again I beg to remind you that this is Somerset, 
England.” 

His quick perception had caught a hint of the fair 
stranger’s nationality. Her voice, her manner, cer- 
tain characteristics of her finely-modeled face and 
figure, all tended to the assumption that she was an 
American. For some reason, the discovery came as 
a surprise. He remembered instantly that the few 
words exchanged with the man in the limousine sug- 
gested that he, too, hailed from the other side of the 
Atlantic. 


19 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Yes,” said the girl, smiling pleasantly, and en- 
deavoring to re-arrange her ruffled hair without re- 
moving her hat, 44 just because it is Somerset, Eng- 
land, I thought there was no harm in taking a spin 
on one of your lovely roads. I find I was mistaken. 
Next time I shall be better advised.” 

44 But surely you didn’t expect to be kidnapped? ” 

44 Well, no. Yet, I ought not to have risked it.” 

44 You were not hurt? ” 

44 Not in the least, except that my mouth is sore 
after that horrid gag.” 

44 Come to my place and drink some milk. Milk 
is the best possible remedy for an injury of that 
kind.” 

A frankly quizzical look met his. Leigh thought 
he had never before seen such brilliant eyes in woman. 
The splendid poise of her head, the free elegance of 
her movements, were typical of the prairie rather 
than the town, yet her style and speech were of his 
own order, and he felt like thanking the well-disposed 
gods who had sent him to her assistance. 

44 You seem to be well posted in these affairs,” she 
said. 

44 Yes. I’ve had heaps of practice — on the other 
side of the map.” 

44 In the States ? ” 

44 No, in the Transvaal. Sometimes, one had to 
truss a Kaffir like a fowl to keep him quiet. But do 
come to the house, where my housekeeper will have 
your dress brushed by one of the maids.” 

20 


How the Circumstances Developed 

She glanced at a watch on her wrist. 

“ You are very kind, but I ought to be returning 
to Burnham. I shall be there in twenty minutes if 
my wheel is not damaged.” 

64 You are not thinking of going back alone? ” 

44 Why not? ” 

44 After such an adventure? 99 

44 Lightning seldom strikes twice in the same place. 
Moreover, according to an ancient mariner who in- 
habits Burnham, there is no other road for miles, and 
I am inclined to think the bandits in automobile 
X Y 302 will not try this track again until they have 
changed their number-plate.” 

The girl was speaking so coolly that Leigh was 
vastly taken by her. 

44 Do you know,” he said, 44 that in all my experience 
of North Somerset I have never heard of anything 
quite so amazing as the events of the past five min- 
utes? Aren’t you breaking some of the rules? If 
you followed the recognized traditions you should at 
least look pale, or hover on the verge of hysteria.” 

44 We Americans are strenuous people, even in our 
misdeeds,” she said. 44 Oh my ! Look at that pedal ! 99 

A gardener had picked up the bicycle, and an at- 
tempt to move it revealed that one of the cranks was 
badly bent, and locked under the gear-case. 

44 That — and the rain — should bring you to shel- 
ter without delay,” cried Leigh. 44 We are in for a 
heavy shower. By the time a carriage is ready the 
road will be passable again.” 

21 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Please, sir,” put in a breathless Jenkins, 44 one 
of the men must fetch a conveyance from the Bush. 
There ain’t any in the stables.” 

“No brougham? no dog-cart? ” demanded Leigh. 

44 No, sir.” 

44 Then where the — what has become of them ? ” 

44 The old gentleman sold ’em, sir, the day after 
you went away.” 

Leigh reddened with vexation, but he laughed at 
the absurdity of it. 

44 Allow me to explain that I have been home not 
quite two hours after an absence of five years,” he 
said to the girl. 44 I was so hungry that I did not 
even change my clothes before dinner, and I was 
about to make a tour of inspection when I heard 
your scream.” 

The girl looked around. She could see nothing 
but the straight road and the stately trees that met 
overhead. 

44 Where did you drop from, anyhow? ” she asked. 

44 I took a bee-line. Something in your cry told 
me to hurry. But there is a more orthodox way. 
Are you sure you can walk? ” 

Then she remembered that he had carried her out 
of the threatened fight, and her fine air of cama- 
raderie yielded to constraint. It occurred to her that 
explanations were needed. 

44 Why, of course,” she cried. 64 Do you think 
* those wretches meant to hurt me? Not they. They 
wanted dollars and cents, and wanted them badly, or 
22 


How the Circumstances Developed 

they would never have tried such a daring trick in 
England. My father is John P. Hinton, of Phila- 
delphia, and our yacht, the Mishe Nahma , is lying 
off the Burnham pier. But now that I come to think 
of it, I shall be glad to straighten up a bit, and have 
myself and my wheel carried back in a landau. The 
damaged crank will serve a good purpose. It would 
completely spoil my father’s pleasure during the re- 
mainder of the trip if he knew I ran a risk of being 
held at ransom, so I w r on’t say a word about it, but 
just stop short at the point where I fell off when the 
automobile drove me into the grass.” 

“ Do you mean that inquiry must not be made — 
that the police should not be asked to find out who 
owns the car? ” 

“ Can they find out? Won’t the man who planned 
the coup have wit enough to travel under half a dozen 
false numbers, and use up almost as many tints on the 
panels. No — the scheme failed, thanks to you, and 
there is no need to worry my father with the details. 
I suppose you can stop your men from talking; not 
that they saw much. I imagine they are convinced 
you fired at the car to avenge the carelessness that 
ran me off the road.” 

“ They saw me untying the gag and freeing your 
arms.” 

“ Never mind. Tell them I am an American. That 
will explain most anything in England.” 

“ I shall obey your wishes, of course. I appre- 
ciate your motive, too, so there breathes at least 
23 


By Force of Circumstances 

one Briton who would not misunderstand you, 
cousin.” 

His boldness brought a ripple of merriment to her 
lips. 

44 There you have me at a disadvantage,” she said. 
44 You know my name ” 

44 Mine is Leigh — Arthur Leigh — spelt in a fash- 
ion expressly designed to puzzle Frenchmen — and 
this is the Abbey Manor, where I shall be delighted to 
welcome you — when you have climbed the hill.” 

He turned at the moment, and thus failed to no- 
tice the expression of amazement, almost of fear, that 
threw its shadow over the girl’s face. 

The lodge formed part of the lofty wall now visi- 
ble. Through the gates, left open by the lodge- 
keeper’s wife after the hasty exit of the servants, 
there was a charming glimpse of the drive winding 
upwards among the rocks and shrubberies. Miss 
Hinton forced herself to find words. 

44 How perfectly romantic!” she exclaimed. 44 It 
is like the castle porch beyond the enchanted glade 
in the fairy-tale.” 

44 1 wish I had come upon you bound to a tree,” 
said Leigh. 44 The motor provided a fair represen- 
tation of a dragon, but the remainder of the story 
is far too modern. For instance ” 

44 Why in the world did your ancestors shut them- 
selves in behind such a high wall? ” she interrupted. 
She scarce knew what she was saying. The discovery 
of her rescuer’s identity seemed to have puzzled and 
24 , 


How the Circumstances Developed 

bewildered her far more than the frustrated attempt 
at abduction. 

M It is not so old as it looks,” said Leigh. 44 My 
grandfather built the greater part. He was some- 
what of a recluse, and it was a fad of his that no 
one should enter or leave the grounds without his 
permission. I broke both rules. Hence my five years’ 
Odyssey.” 

They were nearing the garden door, which Jen- 
kins had not closed behind him. Its pointed arch 
framed a picture of rosery and orchard that would 
have rapt Corot to artistic ecstasy. 

46 Your grandfather was a very old man if he built 
that,” said the girl, pointing to the weather-worn 
stones. 

44 Ah, you have discovered the only bit of real Ab- 
bey that still remains intact. This is the Abbot’s Port. 
The name lives, though no records that I could find 
as a boy gave the least clue to the monk’s history. 
They were Benedictines — that is all we know. The 
monastery was undoubtedly destroyed in the time of 
Henry the Eighth, but even William of Malmesbury, 
who tells us all about Joseph of Arimathea bringing 
the Holy Grail to Glastonbury, has no mention of 
any shrine here. By the way, let us go to the house 
through the gardens. It is a short cut, and the 
shower may be on us at any moment.” 

He stood aside that she might enter. For an in- 
stant she was conscious of a shy reluctance to take 
another onward step. Some intangible but distinctly 
25 


By Force of Circumstances 

hostile force seeirred to resist her. She even hesitated, 
and looked at him, while a question trembled on her 
lips. She smiled. 

“ Your wonderful Atlantic sends us rainstorms 
occasionally that no summer garments can defy while 
you walk a dozen yards,” he assured her. 

With a curiously determined air she passed 
through the arch. A delicious fragrance of roses 
greeted her. That vague impression of unseen hin- 
drance was forgotten in the fresh beauty of the 
terraced garden. 

“ If I lived here,” she murmured, “ I would ask 
my father to sell the Mishe Nahma. We should have 
no further use for a big yacht.” 

The words bubbled forth unawares. She blushed 
slightly, but, to her manifest relief, the owner of the 
Abbey Manor had not heard her, for he was telling 
Jenkins to lock and bolt the door. The climb, the 
excitement, the strangeness of their meeting, had 
flushed her face. Almost unconsciously, she unfas- 
tened her hat and used it as a fan. 

The butler, too, seemed to be confused. He threw 
up his hands in amazement when his master unex- 
pectedly ushered the young lady through the Abbot’s 
Port. For some reason, perhaps owing to the steep 
ascent, he was flurried and breathless. 

“ Yes, sir,” he gasped. Then, in the very act of 
obeying Leigh’s order, he saw that the girl was bare- 
headed, and he stared at her as though she were a 
spirit. 


26 


How the Circumstances Developed 

“Well, of all the queer things!” he muttered. 

The higher branches of the trees quivered. There 
was an ominous patter of heavy drops on the leaves. 

“ Quick, Miss Hinton ! ” cried Leigh. “ Make for 
the balcony. You will find the center window open.” 

She ran gracefully up the straight path by the 
side of the wall. Again there was a suggestion of the 
untrammeled life of the West in her lithe carriage, 
and the thick strands of her brown hair were almost 
rebellious of restraining coils and pins. Yet the per- 
fect harmony of her simple dress bespoke Paris and 
its most fashionable cult. Here was a goddess from 
the wild decked by Paquin. 

They just escaped the rain. Leigh was closing the 
window of the dining-room when the storm leaped 
across the estuary of the Parret and lashed the hot 
earth till it hissed and steamed. 

“ You see it was wise to seek cover,” said the host. 
“ Now I will ring for a maid to take you to Mrs. Jen- 
kins. She is a motherly soul — my own old nurse, so I 
can recommend her. By the time you have removed 
the dust of conflict the shower will probably have ex- 
hausted itself, and I want you to admire the view 
from this window before your carriage arrives.” 

Though outwardly composed now, Miss Hinton 
felt ridiculously tongue-tied. It needed an effort to 
speak calmly, and she was angry at her own timidity. 

“ I am having quite a day of adventures, Mr. 
Leigh,” she managed to say. “ If it did not make 
you a partner in the little subterfuge I mean to use 
27 


By Force of Circumstances 

on my father, I would ask you to let me bring him 
here to-morrow. He revels in the examination of just 
such old-world homes as this.” 

44 The very thing ! Please come to lunch, with any 
others of your yachting party you care to invite. 
Why, you half reconcile me to the thought that you 
will be gone all too soon ! ” 

His eagerness was no polite fiction, and the girl 
was grateful for its warmth, though she wondered 
why she was acting and talking in a manner wholly 
foreign to her real feelings. The Abbey seemed to 
have cast a spell on her. 

44 1 must see if our arrangements permit,” she said 
quickly, with an air of deep calculation that did not 
wholly escape Leigh. 44 There are four of us on the 
yacht — rather a crowd, isn’t it? Well, yes, I 
promise — but don’t forget the condition. Not a 
word about those horrid men in the automobile ! ” 

44 Wild horses shall not drag your secret from my 
lips,” he vowed. 

Then a maid came, and the visitor was handed over 
to sympathetic tendance, for the rumor quickly 
spread that the 44 master ” had brought to the Abbey 
a young lady who was the victim of an accident, and 
no woman, other than a servant, had been seen inside 
those jealously-guarded walls for many a year until 
the day of old Rollaston Leigh’s funeral. 

Meanwhile, the present owner of the Abbey, 
blithely forgetful of the edict that was paramount 
during his own boyhood, was beginning to piece to- 
28 


How the Circumstances Developed 

gether scattered impressions of his fair guest. Hith- 
erto he had not met many Americans. Like most 
Englishmen, his opinions of eighty millions of peo- 
ple were formed by observation and criticism of a 
few scattered units, all middle-class tourists “ doing ” 
Europe for the first time. It was a revelation, and 
a pleasing one, that the great republic could produce 
the aristocratic type. The utter absence of the stri- 
dent enunciation which he had come to regard as the 
American manner of speech shattered his chief illu- 
sion. She did not speak of her father as “ Poppa,” 
nor cry “ My land ! ” at every other sentence, and he 
was sure her Christian name was not Mamie. True, 
there was a distinctive use of words, a pretty stress 
on syllables too often slurred in English diction, that 
had revealed her nationality while yet the dust trail 
of the vanished motor eddied and billowed above the 
roadway. But Leigh found himself admitting that 
he had never before heard woman speak with such 
sweet directness, and his soldier’s heart went out to 
her for the audacity that leaped from her eyes when 
she declared that she would have striven to maim the 
marauders and not their vehicle. 

Wondering whether or not he might be privileged 
to renew an acquaintance so curiously begun, he saun- 
tered to the window and watched the progress of the 
storm. The valley that had smiled up at him when 
he stood there little more than a quarter of an hour 
earlier was now blotted from sight by a dense mist of 
rain. The trees were wildly signaling their alarm. 
29 


By Force of Circumstances 

Nature was cowed. A gray monotone replaced each 
brilliant tint of flower and shrub. 

“ Nature, like myself, is indulging in quick 
changes to-day,” he thought. Even as he looked at 
the squall, a pale blue gleam irradiated garden and 
walls. The woodland belt beyond showed black 
against a flash of ghostly flame, and a low rumble 
came from over the sea. 

66 1 hope she is not afraid of lightning! ” he said 
to himself. 44 She doesn’t seem to be the kind of girl 
who would fear anything. Yet she described her 
father as being 4 of Philadelphia,’ which I have al- 
ways heard called 4 the Quaker City.’ ” 

He laughed at his own joke, and the fact would 
have supplied clear proof to a shrewd observer, had 
any such objectionable person been present, that the 
armor of Arthur Leigh’s bachelorhood was still 
intact, though its rivets might not withstand any 
severe strain. 

To pass the time until his guest re-appeared, he 
picked up the typed documents from the solicitors. 
The first words that met his eye were : — 44 This is 
the last will and testament of me, Rollaston Leigh, 
esquire, of the Abbey Manor, Polden Hill, in the 
county of Somerset.” 

It was a copy of his grandfather’s will. He 
skimmed through it rapidly, and soon came upon his 
own name. So far as he could interpret the legal 
jargon, he was given absolute ownership of all the 
real estate. Nothing was said about personality, but 
30 


How the Circumstances Developed 

Leigh was not lawyer enough to discriminate between 
landed property and stocks and shares or bank de- 
posits. He noted the names of the witnesses and the 
date, and the latter threw light on one thing that had 
perplexed him. The will had evidently been pre- 
pared and signed about a fortnight after the battle 
of Paardeberg. Leigh had won such commendation 
in high quarters for his conduct during the pursuit 
of Cronje that he was offered a commission in the 
Imperial Yeomanry. No doubt his name figured in 
some war correspondent’s telegram, and the local 
newspapers had blazoned it forth for the honor of 
Somerset. 

“ Did the old fellow’s heart kindle for a moment 
when he read what his son’s son was doing? ” he 
mused. “ It may be so. Some memory of the past 
swept aside the prejudices of that fantastic theory 
of his about the souls of dead-and-gone friends and 
acquaintances passing into the bodies of animals. 
The instinct of race triumphed so far that he de- 
stroyed the will he held in terrorem over me. Well, 
peace to his ashes ! My mother forgave him before 
she died, and her gentle spirit may have helped him 
in his final hours.” 

Arthur Leigh knew in his heart that the late owner 
of the Abbey was a despotic visionary, a fanatic 
who had cumbered the earth too long. But on this 
day of accession to his birthright he wished to be at 
peace, even with his memories. He carried benevo- 
lence to the point of being profoundly thankful to 
31 


By Force of Circumstances 

the modern highwaymen whose raid had brought 
about a most agreeable acquaintance. Certainly, it 
would not be his fault if Miss Hinton passed out of 
his life that evening. For once, he felt the spell of a 
woman’s companionship, but, being a diffident young 
man where the opposite sex was concerned, he red- 
dened at the thought that the stately home and its 
perfect gardens assumed a new glamor when bright- 
ened by the girl’s presence. 

At any rate, he was in no mood to wrestle with the 
complex phraseology of the will. Throwing it aside 
until he would be alone with a pipe before retiring to 
rest, he turned to the accompanying letter from 
Mowle and Mowle. 

The storm was now at its height, and the light had 
failed so rapidly that Jenkins entered with a couple 
of lamps. 

Arthur brought the papers to the table, and 
smoothed out the creased sheets. The opening sen- 
tence arrested his attention at once, but the butler 
had something on his mind. 

64 Beg pardon, sir,” he said, in his deferential way, 
“ one of the men found this on the road, just where 
the motor-car stood, an’ I thought you might like 
to have it.” 

He handed to his master a small flat, round stone, 
dull brown in color, with three white bars crossing 
it in the center. 

44 What is it? ” said Leigh. 

44 A stone out of a ring, I think, sir.” 

32 


How the Circumstances Developed 

“ By Jove, yes. I remember now. It was on that 
man’s hand, and it must have been forced out when I 
— when he began to argue with me.” 

“ Was that it, sir? I am sure you will forgive me 
for mentioning it, but it was a very dangerous thing 
to fire at him, sir. Of course, it would have been 
more than sad if the young lady had been run over, 
but why was she bicycling along a country road with 
her head tied up in that extraordinary fashion ? ” 

Leigh laughed. 

“ She is an American, Jenkins, and they are a 
strange race.” 

“ Well, sir, our own ladies are queer enough in 
their goggles an’ bearskins ” 

“ Jenkins ! ” 

“ Oh, sir, I’m talkin’ of those outlandish coats they 
wear when motorin’. But there! You always were 
one for a joke. You know what I mean well enough. 
George told me she had a cloak twisted over her hat, 
an’ she could hardly see or hear in such a contri- 
vance. An’ you ought to feel the weight of it. It’s 
more like a carriage-rug than a wrap. But I was 
goin’ to ax you, sir, why you brought her to the 
Abbey through the Abbot’s Port, an’ why in the 
world did she take her hat off? ” 

“ Too easy, Jenkins. Try something more diffi- 
cult. We came through the garden door because it 
was the nearest way, and Miss Hinton removed her 
hat because it and her hair had been disarranged by 
the cloak you speak of.” 


By Force of Circumstances 

“Funny!” said Jenkins. 

“Is it? Tell me, then, wherein the humor lies.” 

The butler glanced towards the door, and listened. 
There was no sound in the hall. He stooped over the 
table, resting his weight on both hands, and glanced 
at Leigh with troubled eyes. 

“ Did you never hear the reason of your grand- 
father’s order that the Abbot’s Port should be kept 
locked an’ bolted, sir? It was even nailed up when 
your dear mother came here twenty-five years ago, 
but the nails have rusted long since.” 

“ No, Jenkins, I was never given any explanation. 
All I knew was that he forbade the door being 
opened.” 

Jenkins bent nearer. His gray-white face wore a 
scared look. 

“ He was afraid of the Belle Damosel, sir.” 

“What! Have we a ghost on the premises?” 

“No ghost, sir, but live flesh an’ blood. Surely 
you have heard tell that there has never been a mis- 
tress of the Abbey Manor? ” 

“ Yes. I am aware that some extraordinary fa- 
tality has attended our house. No owner of the 
Abbey has ever brought his bride here.” 

“ No, sir, nor ever will, until she enters through 
that door. So said the last Abbot, when Sir 
Roger Leigh bade him sing matins in some other 
retreat. 

4 Ne’er will Leigh’s lady abide in this hall 
Till the Belle Damosel pass my door in the wall. 

34 


How the Circumstances Developed 

Leighs there will be for ever and aye, 

Bat the Abbot's Port turns each fair mistress away. 

Yet the Belle Damosel, with the sun in her hair, 

Will come when the roses are sweet in their flair.’ 

So you see, sir, there’s a fate in it. You could ha’ 
knocked me down with a feather when I saw that 
young lady a-standin’ there without a hat, though, 
to be sure, there was no sunshine just then.” 

Leigh, who was listening with deep interest, 
laughed at the butler’s saving clause. 

64 Your abbot was a poor poet,” he said, 44 but his 
muse may at least have signified that the hair of the 
Belle Damosel would have the glint of gold in it. For 
goodness’ sake, Jenkins, where did you learn that 
doggerel ? ” 

44 It’s true, sir,” said the old man excitedly. 
44 That stone image has been watchin’ the Abbot’s 
Port for many a year, an’ never has a Leigh’s wife 
lived here. If it was my place, I’d have it chipped 
out of the wall — that I would ! ’Tis said that the 
first Sir Roger’s lady was killed by her horse stum- 
blin’ as she climbed the rock. To come to later times, 
I’ve been told that your grandfather really took to 
his curious ways when he lost his young wife soon 
after your father was born in Italy. Then, there 
was your poor, dear father, a picture he was, an’ 
looked like livin’ for a century, but he goes an’ dies 
of a fever in Gibraltar. When your mother first saw 
the Abbey, sir, she was a widow.” 

Both men were so carried away from their sur- 
35 


By Force of Circumstances 

roundings that they were almost startled by the sud- 
den entry of Miss Hinton. 

“ I ought to have knocked,” she said gayly, 44 but 
I hurried in without thinking. What a dear your 
Mrs. Jenkins is ! I do hope I shall see her again. 
And now I must be going. My cab is at the door, so 
your messenger has lost no time, Mr. Leigh.” 

44 But it is still raining,” he protested. 

44 No. Not even that good excuse can detain me. 
The sky is clear in the west.” 

44 May I come with you a little way ? ” 

64 Need I trouble you? It is such a short distance.” 

44 But the motor ” 

She glanced at Jenkins. 

44 They will not dream of running a tilt with a 
carriage and pair,” she said smilingly. 

So, perforce, he let her drive off alone, with her 
bicycle slung across the roof of the landau; and not 
even the last golden flicker of the sun restored to the 
Abbey some of the brightness that had gone from it 
when the horses clattered out of the paved court and 
the magic of her presence was withdrawn. 

A moment too late, Jenkins bustled forward with 
the captured cloak. 

44 The young lady has forgotten this, sir,” he cried. 

Leigh took it, and opened its heavy folds. 

44 No,” he said quietly, 44 that is a present to me, 
Jenkins. It is called spolia opima. Queer name, 
eh?” 

44 Very queer, sir. But, then, the world has 
36 


How the Circumstances Developed 

changed a lot since I was a boy. Young ladies did 
not go tearin’ round the country on bikes, an’ such 
things as motor-cars were never dreamed of.” 

64 Well, put this in my dressing-room. I am going 
out for a stroll.” 

There would be no harm, at least, if he walked 
along the road to Burnham, and met the empty car- 
riage on its return journey. Lighting a third cigar, 
he laughed. 

44 Now I wonder if I shall be allowed to smoke this 
one? ” he asked himself. 


37 


CHAPTER III 


WHEREIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES REVEAL. THEIR FORCE 

South African warring had taught Leigh the 
tracker’s art, but the lore of the scout was hardly 
needed when he stood on the main road in the dusk, 
and saw the sharp turn taken by the landau’s wheels 
in leaving the Abbey drive. No other conveyance of 
any kind had traveled in the direction of Burn- 
ham since the rain fell. A two-wheeled vehicle, prob- 
ably a dog-cart, had gone towards Bridgewater, and 
a big dog had accompanied it. No pedestrian had 
passed. The dust, now welded into yellow mud, was 
collected in the gutters and hollows of the road. 
Raindrops twinkled on every blade of grass. Even 
a rabbit that scampered across the highway after the 
thunderstorm had left its trail. 

He walked slowly under the arch of the trees, his 
thoughts naturally reverting to the day, five years 
earlier, when he drove to the Abbey from Burnham 
at the close of a cruise in a friend’s yacht, and a 
groom had stirred him to anger by the announce- 
ment that his favorite spaniel was impounded in the 
“ Place of Sojourn ” because old Rollaston Leigh 
had seen someone’s “ soul ” looking at him through 
the poor creature’s eyes. 


38 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

Reckless of consequences, he had gone straight to 
the sacrosanct enclosure, had rescued the dog from 
its allotted den, and had defied the dotard with bitter 
and contemptuous words. 

The elder Leigh was dominated by a strange phi- 
losophy. He cared naught for a boy’s vaporings, 
but his worst passions were aroused when Arthur 
refused to restore his friend to the misery of that 
crowded prison in the stableyard. 

If, in very truth, there was any substance in the 
old man’s theory, the eyes of a demon rather than 
those of a human being glared then at his grand- 
son. It happened to be Arthur’s twenty-second birth- 
day, and Rollaston Leigh remembered it. 

“ Go ! ” he said, pointing malevolently to the door, 
at the close of a painful scene. 64 1 have kept faith 
with your mother for a year longer than was neces- 
sary. From this instant you are an outcast. Go and 
herd with the swinish mob whose views you hold. I 
disown you. You were disinherited long since. Now 
I cast you off utterly.” 

If seventy can be vindictive and foolish, twenty- 
two can be headstrong and valiant. Arthur Leigh 
faced the world with thirty pounds in his pocket, and 
a couple of portmanteaux stuffed with clothes, and a 
devoted spaniel. And he never regretted it. It was 
better that he should learn his fate thus early than 
find himself stranded when his grandfather died. 
Oddly enough, the dog helped him. A chance meet- 
ing in the train from Bristol to London led to an 
39 


By Force of Circumstances 

offer by a sporting Norfolk squire to buy the animal. 
Arthur refused to part with his friend, and, in a 
subsequent conversation, made no secret of the rea- 
son. Before Paddington was reached, he had agreed 
to turn his knowledge of country life to good account 
by becoming under-bailiff on his new acquaintance’s 
estate. For three years he and the spaniel lived hap- 
pily near Sheringham. Then the dog died, and the 
war broke out, and Leigh felt the call of the far 
lands to young blood. 

He was on his way home in a troopship when 
a cablegram received at Madeira announced his 
succession to the estate. Rollaston Leigh had 
been dead six months, but apparently it took the 
lawyers all that time to discover the heir’s where- 
abouts. 

And now, for the first time, that fact struck him 
as noteworthy. If, as he had rightly guessed, he was 
described correctly in the newspapers after Paarde- 
berg, Messrs. Mowle and Mowle could have found out 
instantly where he was stationed by applying at the 
headquarters of Paget’s Horse. Why the delay? 
Perhaps their letter would solve that puzzle. He 
meant to read it carefully when he went back to the 
Abbey. 

Daylight failed before he was clear of the wood. 
The wind had veered, and was now blowing steadily 
from the southwest, bringing up more clouds. There 
was no moon, and the night promised to be unusually 
dark for the month of June. Hearing the steady 
40 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

trot of a pair of horses, he halted near a stile that 
shielded the field-path to Bridgewater. 

A carriage approached. It was the landau. 

“ Hello, Dobson ! ” he cried, for the driver was 
well known to him, 46 did the young lady and her 
bicycle reach Burnham all right? 99 

The man pulled up. 

44 Yes, sir,” he said. 44 A fine job it was, too. I 
could do with a few more like that. Gev’ me a sov- 
ereign, she did.” 

44 Capital. Did you see the yacht ? ” 

44 Yes, sir — a real beauty. And, if I may make 
so bold, how are you, sir? Everybody is very pleased 
to hear you are back again after the war.” 

44 Oh, I am in the best of trim. I shall look you up 
when I visit the village in the morning.” 

44 Shall I drop you at the Abbey, sir? 99 

44 No, thanks.” 

44 Well, sir, I have to take Mr. Fensham to catch 
the 10:15 at Bridgewater. He’s off by the mail to 
Switzerland, so I’ll say 4 Good-night,’ sir.” 

Mr. Fensham was the vicar already mentioned by 
Jenkins, and one of Arthur’s oldest friends. The car- 
riage was gone before the young man realized that 
Fensham was an enthusiastic Alpinist, who devoted 
his annual holiday to mountaineering. He was 
among the few men with whom it was possible to dis- 
cuss family affairs, and his departure that night 
meant absence from Somerset for six weeks at least. 

Leigh blew his cigar into a red glare and held it 
41 


By Force of Circumstances 

against his watch. The hour was 9 :20. There was 
plenty of time to walk the two miles by the path, 
and catch the vicar for a brief chat at the station, 
while Dobson would be there to bring him back to the 
house. 

Knowing every inch of the way, he crossed the 
stile, and stepped out briskly between a hedge and a 
crop of barley. The rain had made the clay heavy; 
he had not gone many yards when it became un- 
pleasantly evident that his boots must be covered 
with mud. That did not trouble him — he had often 
slept in mud, but he stopped to turn up his trousers, 
in doing which his elbow struck the kidnapper’s re- 
volver in his pocket, and he was reminded of the ex- 
traordinary manner in which it had come into his 
possession. 

“ ’Pon my honor,” he said with a quiet laugh, 
“ this has been a day of strange incident. And I am 
keeping it up, for here am I, instead of smoking in 
slippered ease, trudging through mire to Bridge- 
water. It would be an odd thing if Fensham were 
to postpone his journey, or if I missed him.” 

But far odder things could happen. . . ! 

The foot-path, after passing out of the field of 
barley, merged into the broad towing-track on the 
right bank of the Parret, made there in the days 
when Bridgewater was visited by many barges ; but, 
after a couple of hundred yards, it went inland again, 
thus cutting off a chord of the river. This joining 
and disjunction of the two ways was repeated at les- 
42 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

sening intervals, and, because the foot-path was 
muddy, Leigh followed the longer but firmer towing- 
track. Behind that slight circumstance was am- 
bushed that night much tribulation for him. 

By the time he was nearing Bridgewater the 
weather had grown so murky that it was barely pos- 
sible to distinguish the track from the dark grass 
ridges on each side. Though the river, rising rap- 
idly with the tide, flowed within a few feet, it re- 
mained invisible until the outline of a big barge 
loomed up close to the bank, and thus gave a stand- 
ard, so to speak, whereby one might gauge degrees 
of blackness. A plank bridged the sloping mud shelf 
between the tow-path and the ungainly vessel, and 
Leigh would have tripped over its shoreward end had 
he not been walking warily. 

At that instant he thought he heard a man’s voice 
exclaiming wrathfully against some thing or person 
that interfered or annoyed him. The cry sounded 
like an oath, but Leigh could not hear what was said, 
and his impression was that someone, advancing from 
the Bridgewater direction, had come across another 
improvised gangway, but had failed to avoid it. 

The occurrence was too trivial to engage his close 
attention. Its subsequent importance lay in the fact 
that he expected to come face to face with a fellow 
wayfarer, and that he was actually on the lookout 
for such a meeting, intending to warn the stranger 
of the existence of a second obstruction within a few 
yards. 


43 


By Force of Circumstances 

It must be remembered that Arthur Leigh was a 
trained scout, with the experience of many a long 
night on the veldt, when his own life and the lives 
of his comrades depended on the accurate use of eyes 
and ears. If, therefore, the owner of that impatient 
voice was as near as the sound indicated, it was only 
reasonable to assume that Leigh must have seen or 
heard him at least as soon as his own presence be- 
came known to the other. Indeed, since Leigh had 
neither stumbled nor spoken, and was possessed of 
faculties quickened by use, it was far more prob- 
able that he would be the first to discover the new- 
comer’s whereabouts. So he did not halt and lis- 
ten. There was no need. This was the Parret, 
not some disputed ford of the Modder River 
which might be rushed at any moment by a Boer 
commando. 

But suddenly, from out of the very heart of the 
chaos, he was struck a blow that tumbled him to 
earth, though how or by whom that irresistible as- 
sault could be delivered he had no notion. At one 
instant he was gazing fixedly ahead, with the dim 
straightness of the tow-path clear enough before his 
eyes for ten feet or more, and the lights of Bridge- 
water already twinkling through the gloom; in the 
next he was flung violently back and down, as though 
some power of the dark had suddenly yielded to a 
frenzy of smiting. He felt the tremendous shock of 
the blow on face, breast, and right thigh. Resistance 
was impossible, even had he been forewarned, for he 


44 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

might as well have striven to avert the thrust of a 
steam-hammer. 

Yet he was practically unhurt. He was on his 
feet almost as speedily as he fell, and now he stood 
with a heart a-thump and every muscle tense for a 
fight. He was facing the unseen, yet he did not 
flinch. There was no time for balanced thought or 
definite purpose. He was just a human animal stand- 
ing ready to defend his life against any sort of foe. 

If he experienced again the half-forgotten subtle 
thrill evoked by the whistle of his first Mauser bullet, 
it is not to be wondered at. He could see nothing 
save the path, its black fringes of grass, and the pin- 
point lights of the town — hear nothing but the lap 
and rush of the tide and the murmur of the 
wind. . . . 

He had taught himself to be cool in an emergency, 
to repress the red flood of rage that clogs the brain 
and impairs the perfect unity of eye and hand; and 
if any human adversary had been within striking 
range of Arthur Leigh at that moment he would 
surely have been hit — hit with as ready a goodwill 
as ever a clenched fist dashed against another man’s 
face. But though Leigh waited, and listened, and 
marveled till he felt a certain creepiness in his spine 
and an anxiety to look on all sides at once, he was 
no wiser, but rather more befogged, as a minute sped, 
and nothing happened. 

The danger, whatever it was, seemed to have gone. 
He began to analyze the attack. Its amazing force 
45 


By Force of Circumstances 

was no less remarkable than the small damage it had 
caused. Such a blow should have crushed him to a 
pulp, yet it appeared merely to have thrown him on 
his back and left him there, mud-daubed from head 
to heel, but comparatively uninjured otherwise. 

His deer-stalker cap had been struck from his 
head, and he could not find it where he had fallen. He 
walked back a few paces, stooping, with 'his eyes 
fixed on the ground, though it needed all his power of 
self-control to make that search, since he did not 
know the second that his mysterious enemy might re- 
turn. His sense of helplessness, and the apprehension 
that he might be knocked senseless into the river at 
the next onset, were very unnerving. 

He set his teeth, crouched, listened, peering around, 
above, beneath, incessantly. At last he found his cap, 
which, as well as he could judge, lay fully five yards 
from where he had fallen. Here was proof, if proof 
were needed, that his invisible assailant had come 
from the way of the town — from the very direction, 
that is, in which he was looking when attacked. 

Then he did what not many men would have done, 
situated as he was — he ran swiftly a hundred yards 
or more along the way he had come. Stopping sud- 
denly, he strained his ears to catch the least sound. 
It was useless. Again he was mocked by the quiet 
swirling of the waters and the whispers of the wind. 

Angry, thoroughly bewildered, he retraced his 
steps. Thus, three times in less than a minute, he 
passed the black bulk of the barge, and this third 
46 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

time his foot touched something as he strode over the 
obstructing plank. He stopped and picked up a 
leather cap, such as is worn by motorists. 

He did not attempt to deny to himself that this 
queer find gave him another thrill. The lining of the 
cap was still warm and damp. Beyond question, it 
had come from some perspiring head since he had 
first crossed the plank. Yet the thrill was of excite- 
ment rather than fear. Hitherto he had been striv- 
ing against the unknown, fighting down uncanny 
thoughts of the vague forces that lie perdu in the 
unprobed depths of the imagination. But this leather 
cap was a tangible thing, modern, the head-gear of 
a chauffeur; it or its like had been worn by both 
“ Gustave ” and the other man whose attempt to 
carry off Miss Hinton he had foiled some two hours 
earlier. 

And the cap had been lying just opposite the 
barge. . . . Was its owner, then, on the barge, since 
he was not elsewhere? Certainly, he must be some- 
where. Goblins do not wear such things. 

“ Barge ahoy ! 99 called Arthur Leigh, and at the 
same time he crouched for cover from possible shot 
behind a mound of the bank, as warily as though the 
barge was a suspected kopje. 

He waited three breathless minutes. There was no 
answer; and out again rang his clear shout: “ Barge 
ahoy ! 99 

This time, as the sound of his voice died out of his 
ears, there was another sound somewhere, though not 
47 


By Force of Circumstances 

an answering sound, it seemed — rather a sound like 
the one he had first heard, a curse, or smothered cry 
of wrath; but this time it did not seem to come from 
the direction of the town. He could not say exactly 
whence it came. It was like a voice out of the void, 
but he thought it most likely that it proceeded from 
the barge. 

So he hailed again, but there was no answer. 

And now all at once he let fall the motor cap on the 
path, and with an audacious heart was running — 
along the plank toward the barge, with the revolver 
which he had wrenched from the kidnapper ready for 
use in his fingers, and in his brain a grim and angry 
determination to find out what mystery was afoot on 
the Parret bank that night. The same darkness that 
covered his foes covered him, and he went swift, and 
straight, and tense. 

He had all but reached the barge when he was 
again assailed, though this time he was not directly 
struck; but he heard a blow delivered quite close to 
him, and at the same moment the plank was knocked 
from under his feet. In his fall he uttered a cry, 
cast out his arms, and let go the kidnapper’s revolver, 
which dropped into the river. 

But he was then so near the barge that his hands, 
as he fell, caught the gunwale, and as the barge was 
light of cargo, and he far for’ard, only his feet were 
in the water. The next moment he was on board. 

It was very dark, not one star alight, and hardly 
a sound — one of those situations where, with the ave- 


48 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 


nues of sense blocked up, one is almost in the melan- 
choly isolation of a deaf mute who is also blind. But 
Leigh could half see. He guessed that he stood in 
the barge’s bows on the fo’castle deck, and after 
standing a full five minutes, shy now of making mo- 
tion, shy of uttering a sound, at last he ventured to 
lift his voice, calling half daringly, half reluctantly: 
“ Who is there? D — n you, can’t you speak? ” 

There was no answer. 

He stood again, waiting, hushed, suspended, with- 
out thought, without purpose, imprisoned in the col- 
liery of night, conscious only that he was unarmed, 
in peril, and a prey to foes whose forces and ways of 
operation were new to his very imagination. 

He crouched down on the deck, taking cover behind 
the darkness as behind a trench, and waited. 

Then, when nothing happened, he went groping, 
so as to define exactly his situation. He felt all over 
the short deck, over the gunwales, felt the jib, a cap- 
stan, two coils of rope, a pile of sacks, three blocks, 
two boxes, an end of chain, an anchor; and he was 
thus, as it were secretly groping and prospecting on 
all-fours, when he happened to place his left hand un- 
awares on empty air and dropped sideways. At the 
same time a sense of something weighty impending 
bewildered him, and caused him to lose his balance, 
and he went tumbling over the brink of the deck into 
the hold of the barge. 

This stunned him. He lay there some time, not un- 
conscious of existence, but unconscious and careless 
49 


By Force of Circumstances 

where he was, or what was doing in this world. When 
he came more to himself it was with a sudden tremor, 
all over him, a feeling of deep fear that was not all 
fear, but partly awe as well, imagination catching 
horror from the physical shock of his fall. It en- 
tered his head somehow that the barge was about to 
sink with him, scuttled without hands. Drowning in 
the dark and slimy water appeared to be a thousand 
times more malign and haunted a thing than death 
had ever appeared before ; so that it was in a tremble 
of haste that he sprang to his feet, and when his hand 
happened to strike upon the ladder-way to the deck 
from which he had dropped, he raced up it with a 
sense of escape all down the small of his back. 

There on the deck he again stood motionless, gath- 
ering mind and courage, waiting for his manhood to 
overcome the feeling of weakness that had his soul in 
possession. . . . 

He forced himself to think. The barge, it seemed, 
was empty — empty at least of the men in charge of 
her, though it was odd that not even one man or boy 
was on board ; but conceivably all were reveling 
mildly at Bridgewater or Burnham, the barge having 
discharged her cargo. If there was anyone else on 
board — a stranger, or strangers — then he or they 
were prisoners like Leigh himself, for the plank to 
the shore was gone. 

What power had removed that plank he could no 
more conceive than he could conceive any of the 
causes that had brought him to the pass in which he 
50 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

stood. But his fancy, or his nerves, somehow con- 
jectured that the kidnappers of the motor-car were 
after him — that by the use of some occult power they 
had struck him down and removed the plank. In 
which case, had they made themselves prisoners in the 
barge? Certainly, that did not seem very likely. He 
was probably alone, he decided ; and yet, now, strange 
to say, his brain received a sensation that he was not 
alone. He determined to investigate, to search the 
vessel throughout, no matter what the dark powers 
might be that lay in wait for his life that night. 

With an intrepidity born of the same mood as 
Luther’s when he hurled the ink-bottle at the appari- 
tion of Satan, Leigh began his search. 

One step he took, but no more than one: his foot, 
as he now moved forward, hit upon something. 

It felt like flesh, and a cry that was never uttered, 
but that pierced him internally through and through, 
shrieked that it was human flesh. He stooped to it, 
and in truth, a human creature lay in a wild attitude 
there, a man, white-skinned and nude. 

Leigh bent and stared closely at it. He had an 
idea that he was staring at a corpse, but during the 
first few moments his mind was filled with neither hor- 
ror, nor pity, nor terror, but with wonder — sheer won- 
der that that object could be lying just there where 
he saw and felt it. For he had previously groped all 
over the deck, and no naked, pale body was there up 
to the moment of his fall into the hold — to that much 
he could swear, and since the plank was gone, the 
51 


By Force of Circumstances 

body had not been brought from the shore; it could 
only have been brought from the after part of the 
barge during the moments that he lay below stunned 
from his fall, in which case, he thought, it must have 
been brought by footfalls as silently gliding as those 
of ghosts and by forms of the same texture and color 
as the darkness. 

64 1 say . . . you . . he murmured to the body. 
He touched it, shook it ; but there came no answer. 

Yet it did not now seem to be dead. It was still 
warm to the touch. He passed his hand upward to- 
ward the heart, but could feel no beating there; and 
he passed it up toward the neck, and there his fingers 
met a piece of hemp, or gut, stiff and tied in a knot, 
and sunken in the flesh; and he passed it up toward 
the face — but he started backward : there was no face, 
only something there that wetted his skin. 

It became a pain in his heart, that sense of the 
unknown which was all about him ; but a flood of new 
resolution now suddenly impelled him to kneel there 
staring at death no longer, but to be up and doing. 
Someone, he was quite sure, had eome from the stern 
of the barge while he lay stunned, and had placed the 
body there, someone who was still on board, since the 
bridge was gone; and Leigh meant, whether it was 
ghost or man, to find and face him. 

He got up and crept very warily down the steps, 
and warily on his hands and knees he searched each 
square inch of the craft astern of the fo’castle during 
ten minutes. He even went into the blackness under 


52 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

the fo’castle, and then returned to the deck and 
searched over it, and there was no one. . . . 

He crouched again on the deck at a spot as far 
removed as possible from the body. Though alert 
enough physically, his mind was oppressed with a 
gloomy horror because of the darkness of all sorts in 
which he found himself suddenly drowned and lost. 

But as he sat there, he was aware of a new sound, 
one good and homely this time, that gave him a mar- 
velous relief — the crunch of feet on the tow-path. 
Someone was coming from Bridgewater. The plod- 
ding step betokened a farm laborer returning home 
after his evening mug of beer. Leigh hurried to the 
port gunwale, and was about to hail, when the steps 
suddenly stopped, there was a crash, and a volley 
of hard words sputtered from the unseen man on 
shore. 

64 Who are you? ” called Leigh, almost quaking at 
the thought of a new catastrophe. 

“ Why the blazes do ’ee lave this thing stickin’ ’ere 
in folks’ way? ” howled the man, picking himself up 
from a fall over the plank, which having dropped, 
now thrust itself high across the path at its shore- 
ward end. 

44 Are you from Bridgewater? ” demanded Leigh, 
and the accents of the 44 gentry ” brought a civiller 
reply. 

44 Yis, zur, I be.” 

44 Met anyone between here and the town? ” 

44 1 haven’t. But why the ? ” 

53 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 The gangway slipped and I am a prisoner here 
on the barge. Just see if you can ship this end 
again, will you? ” 

The man sullenly obeyed. Leigh, peering close 
over the side, caught the plank as it rose. In a few 
seconds it was placed in position, and the captive was 
hurrying away from that terrible barge. 

44 Have you seen or heard nothing unusual? 99 he 
asked guardedly as he stepped ashore. 

44 No-a, zur,” was the answer: 44 is summat amiss? 99 

Arthur did not attempt to explain at once the in- 
explicable — it was too long — his nerves were too 
much in a whirl — he felt that the secret of what he 
had passed through was in some indefinite way his 
own. At any rate, it was useless to bring a bemused 
clodhopper into council, so he only said: 

44 1 was under the impression that some person 
came along here a few minutes since. As you are 
from Bridgewater, and as this path leads only to 
Bridgewater ” 

The man approached and tried to make out who was 
airing this local knowledge. 

44 Beg pardon, zur, but may I ax who ’ee be? 99 he 
inquired. 

44 1 am Mr. Leigh, of the Abbey.” 

44 You doant say, zur. Well, I am main glad to 
meet ’ee. I’ve heerd tell of ’ee many’s the time. My 
name’s Thompson, and I live wi’ Mister Bacon of 
Sandy Hill. And how came ’ee, zur, to be locked up 
in this ’ere barge? ” 


54 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

Pride of birth and local power again stopped 
Leigh from disjointed talk of ghostly murder. 

“ I went on board. . . . The plank dropped — I 
don’t know . . . yes, the plank dropped . . . what 
barge is it ? ” 

“ A lighter, zur. Her wur towed ’ere t’other day 
wi’ twenty ton o’ hay.” 

“ I see. You will not forget you met me here? ” 

The man laughed and stooped to rub his shin. 
“ Not likely, zur. You’ll not be cornin’ my way? ” 

“ No.” 

“ Well, good-night to ’ee, zur.” 

“ Good-night.” 

The man went on. Leigh stood there many min- 
utes. He believed he was deep in thought, yet he was 
not really thinking, only dumbly and numbly full of 
the consciousness of the things he had just passed 
through. Then, because he had meant to go to 
Bridgewater, he moved slowly, mechanically, in that 
direction, though without purpose now, even forget- 
ting that he had started out with the intention of 
saying good-bye to Mr. Fensham, the vicar, at the 
railway station. 

As he moved, his foot struck against an object 
which he stooped to pick up — again it was the motor 
cap. 

Until he reached Bridgewater he walked in a state 
of complete unconsciousness that he had the cap in 
his hand. He did not realize that his feet were soaked, 
or that his clothes had been rolled in the mud of the 


55 


By Force of Circumstances 

roadway. He had been shaken, bodily and mentally, 
or he would certainly not have acted as though he had 
something to conceal. 

At last he reached the town. The sight of the 
Feathers Hotel only suggested to his scattered wits 
that a glass of brandy might be helpful. He entered 
by the guests’ passage, thus avoiding the bar, and 
then, in a mirror, he saw himself as he really was. 

44 Yes, put me straight,” he said to an astonished 
44 Boots,” who came at his call and was soon all 
a-stare. The man believed that this well-dressed 
stranger had met with an accident. 

Leigh did not enlighten him. He was quite inca- 
pable of saying more than the literal truth — that he 
had fallen and rolled on the tow-path. 

While the grooming process was going on, Leigh 
looked at the leather cap in his hand. It was a well- 
made article, bearing the stamp of a Paris house. 
There were no initials or other identifying marks in- 
side. The exterior was singularly free from dust or 
rain-marks, with the exception of some patches of 
mud gathered probably from its resting-place on the 
river bank. It was impossible not to connect such an 
object with the two motorists of the afternoon, and 
therein Leigh himself found the genesis of the un- 
canny silence that clogged his tongue. 

He put a question to the Boots. 44 Have you 
started a garage at the Feathers P ” 

44 Yes, sir,” was the answer. 44 Everybody motors 
nowadays, so we dug a pit in the coach-house.” 

56 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

“ Have any cars called here to-day ? ” 

“ Half-a-dozen, sir. This is the coast road to 
Watchet an’ North Devon, you know. But there’s 
on’y one car staying the night — kem in just after 
the shower began.” 

“After the shower began. . . . Not X Y 302?” 

“ That’s the very car, sir. Do you know the gen- 
tleman what owns it? ” 

46 No. . . . That is, I have seen him. Is he in the 
hotel? ” 

44 No, sir, he an’ his chauffeur went off at once, 
though it was rainin’ cats and dogs. . . . Said they 
had to make a call in the town. . . . French gentle- 
men, I think.” 

Leigh remembered Miss Hinton more definitely. 
He knew there was something ! His promise to 
her blocked inquiry in this direction. But he 
asked : 

44 Who is the police inspector here now ? It used 
to be ” 

44 Inspector Lawson, sir.” 

44 Yes, Lawson, the same man. Could you bring 
him here, I wonder? I am rather shaken, but I want 
to tell him certain circumstances that have come to 
my knowledge.” 

44 No doubt, sir, he can be fetched in a minute or 
two. What name shall I say, sir? ” 

44 1 am Mr. Leigh, of the Abbey Manor.” 

44 Well, bless me if this ain’t a real pleasure, sir!” 
cried 44 Boots,” elated at the knowledge that he had 
57 


By Force of Circumstances 

seen and spoke to the man whose career was in many 
mouths. He brushed more vehemently than ever. 

44 Nice handy car, sir, X Y 302,” he went on, for 
he had noticed the leather cap hanging over Leigh’s 
hand, and jumped to the conclusion that the owner 
of the Abbey was a motorist himself. 44 It’s a fair 
marvel how they can turn and twist a heavy thing like 
that in a small yard, sir. Weighs over a ton, I’ll be 
bound.” 

At the same time he put his finishing touches to his 
work. 

44 Thank you,” said Leigh, putting his hand in his 
pocket, a hand which till now had been covered with 
the motor cap. He held out half-a-crown. 

44 Good gracious, sir,” came the sympathetic cry, 
44 your hand is all covered with blood ! ” 

Leigh glanced down and saw what was dry and red 
there. He felt a sudden loathing of it. Though he 
was fresh from seeing pools of that very red in South 
Africa, the man stretched white and nude in his wild 
attitude in the dark on the barge was horrid to 
Arthur’s thought, and what of him he now saw on 
his hands he was all at once in a haste to wash utterly 
and elaborately off. . . . He shirked inquiry again 
and turned to get away. 

44 But as to the inspector, sir ” queried 

44 Boots ” after him. 

44 I’ll see him later,” said Arthur over his shoulder, 
and was gone. 

He walked rapidly and eagerly homewards. Once, 
58 


The Circumstances Reveal Their Force 

when a little way out of Bridgewater, he stopped 
short, asking himself if he ought not to give informa- 
tion to the police straightway. But that was a mat- 
ter for thought, for slow and measured speech, which 
at that moment, was entirely beyond his command. 
And he wanted that stain off his hand ! It oppressed 
him ! 


CHAPTER IV 


THE CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE A STRIDE 

Leigh did not reach the Abbey on the night of his 
adventure till eleven o’clock. He was quite exhausted, 
but a laving of cold water refreshed him. Then he 
recalled the need there was that he should drink some 
brandy. He went to the dining-room, obtained a de- 
canter, and for some time stood at the table lost in 
meditation, while he sipped the spirit. Right under 
his eyes was the letter of Mowle and Mowle, the law- 
yers, but though just conscious of it lying there, he 
lacked any wish to read it. He went to bed, and in 
the darkness and quiet of his room lived over again 
all that drama of mystery and death through which 
he had passed so recently. He did not sleep for 
hours, and then slept heavily. 

The next morning the first waking event for him 
was a letter delivered by hand. 

“ Dear Mr. Leigh : 

“ My father and I, with Mr. and Mrs. George F. 
Bates and Mr. Chauncey Bagot, will be most pleased 
to come to lunch at the Abbey at one o’clock. 

66 Sincerely, 

“ Elinor Gage Hinton.” 

60 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

“ 4 Elinor ’ — that’s the name, then,” he said to 
himself. 44 But Mr. Chauncey Bagot — how old, I 
wonder ? A suitor . . . ? ” 

After breakfast on the balcony, while debating 
whether he should walk into Bridgewater and inter- 
view the chief of police, or send a message that he 
was to come to the Abbey, he took in hand, for the 
third or fourth time within twelve hours, the long 
letter of Mowle and Mowle. But again his mind 
wandered, the letter sank down to lie on his knee, his 
cigar hung meditatively between his teeth, and his 
thoughts went back to the Parret bank. He saw 
again the barge lying in the dark on the water, and 
the white flesh of the corpse on the deck. It was only 
now, in fact, that he realized how trying to nerve and 
brain had been his experience. The preceding night 
it had affected him as when a limb is crushed, and the 
organism is too stunned to feel all the shock imme- 
diately, the torture being for the after-time. He had 
been struck down by a force, and there was no clue as 
to whether that force was due to human agency, or to 
some new malignity of his grandfather’s spirit — for 
that weird notion, too, mingled vaguely with his mus- 
ings. And was the force the same as that which had 
killed the dead man, which had borne and placed the 
body in the barge? And the wearer of the motor 
cap which he had found, had he anything to do with 
either of these forces, or with both, if both were one? 
The cap, of a quite unusually large size, must have 
covered a huge head. The wearer must be almost a 
61 


By Force of Circumstances 

giant; and a wielder of giant forces must be that 
being, stalking in darkness, who could strike with so 
long and deadly an arm ! Leigh’s eyes remained shut 
some time, and there were misshaped ideas fluttering 
in his mind that made him shudder. 

However, his guests were coming ; he had to bestir 
himself. He hoped he would not be bothered until 
they were gone. Then he would lay the facts of the 
night’s experience before the police; and meantime — 
Mowle and Mowle’s letter. 

“ Dear Sir : ” he read, “ In re the Abbey Manor 
Estate. As executors of the estate of the late Rol- 
laston Leigh, it is our duty to acquaint you with the 
exact circumstances under which you have succeeded 
to the property ” 

Instantly at those words Arthur started, for al- 
ways in some nook of his brain, from the moment he 
had heard that he was the heir, there had lurked a sus- 
picion that this thing was too good to be true of his 
grandfather, Rollaston Leigh. Now he had a fore- 
boding of some trick, some spiteful device, on the old 
man’s part. . . . 

“ Under which you have succeeded to the prop- 
erty ” — Arthur spread the letter firmly on his knees, 
and bent his attention to it. 

“ Some six months before your grandfather’s death 
he advised us by letter that he had appointed us 
executors under his will. To this we wrote a reply 
to the effect that the appointment was inadvisable, if 
not altogether invalid, since we, as his legal advisers, 
62 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

had drawn up his testamentary depositions, and it is 
not the custom of reputable firms of solicitors to set- 
tle the details of wills which they will be called upon 
to administer as trustees or executors. His reply 
was that he had revoked that will and all former wills 
and bequests, and had consulted another firm in the 
preparation of the new will, which, with other papers, 
he would deposit in our hands within a few days. 

44 In due course a sealed packet marked 4 Not to 
be opened until the day after my interment,’ and 
4 Rollaston Leigh,’ was delivered to us, with a cover- 
ing letter, which stated that no effort should be made 
to ascertain the whereabouts of Arthur Leigh until 
four months after the testator’s death. . . .” 

44 By Jove, this means trouble,” muttered Arthur 
with decision, and he turned rapidly over the remain- 
ing leaves of the letter. There were five pages more 
of it; but before he could gather any more of its 
drift, Jenkins, rather flustrated, came to him, saying: 

44 Mr. Lawson, the inspector of police at Bridge- 
water, to see you, sir.” 

Arthur looked gravely at Jenkins. Not even on 
this bright morning was he quite himself. He re- 
peated the words : 

44 Inspector of police.” 

44 Yes, sir,” said Jenkins : 44 1 told him I thought 
you were engaged, but he says his business is 
hurgent.” 

Jenkins did not often misplace the letter 44 h ” ; 
when he did, it lent emphasis. 

63 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Show the inspector out here, Jenkins,” said 
Arthur. 

In another minute Inspector Lawson, a man of the 
heavy build, whose shoe-leather uttered a cry at each 
step, was standing before Arthur on the balcony, 
note-book in hand, waiting to hear what strange deeds 
had been done on the previous night by the Parret. 

And Arthur told his story. Mad enough in its 
actual occurrence, it sounded trite and lame now, 
even in his own ears. The policeman did not inter- 
rupt. He listened in silence and scribbled indus- 
triously. 

44 May I ask,” he said when Leigh ceased speaking, 
44 did you carry any sort of a weapon, sir? ” 

46 Yes, a revolver.” 

44 You say you started out with the intention of 
saying good-by to the Rev. Mr. Fensham at the 
railway ? ” 

44 That is so.” 

44 Why take a revolver for that? You expected no 
danger. . . .” 

44 True enough. But I did not take it, so to speak. 
It merely happened to be in my pocket. It was not 
even my own revolver. . . .” 

44 Ah ? Whose revolver was it ? ” 

44 A stranger’s — the revolver of a man who passed 
by here in a motor-car during the afternoon.” 

44 1 see. But, will you kindly explain, Mr. Leigh, 
how the revolver of that passer-by came to be in your 
pocket? ” 


64 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

“ Well, we had a dispute. I took the revolver from 
him.” 

“ Explain, sir, please. A dispute, you say. So the 
car stopped, of course, and didn’t ‘ pass ’ after all? ” 

“ Yes ; but really, officer, I do not see what this has 
to do with the matter by the river’s brink ” 

Leigh, embarrassed by his promise made to Miss 
Hinton to tell nothing of the kidnapping incident, 
let his eyelids drop before the policeman’s bovine 
gaze. It only now occurred to him to wonder why 
she should have been so anxious to cover up the inci- 
dent in silence. It seemed to him unreasonable that 
she should have imposed silence upon him — but then, 
she had, and she held his promise. 

“ It is for the police,” said the inspector heavily, 
“ to decide what connection there may be between the 
murder on the barge and the dispute with a 6 passer- 
by ’ on a motor-car of which you speak. Kindly let 
me hear the story.” 

His manner was growing less respectful, more sus- 
picious. Leigh was nettled. 

“ Well, that part of it is rather a personal mat- 
ter,” said he stiffly. “ I’d rather not go into it.” 

The inspector made a note. He passed the ques- 
tion. 

“ And this revolver of the passing stranger that 
somehow got into your pocket,” said he, 66 where is 
it? I would like to have a look at it.” 

“ It is at the bottom of the Parret ! Didn’t I 
mention that I dropped it at the moment when the 
65 


By Force of Circumstances 

plank was withdrawn from under my feet, and I 
fell? 55 

44 No, you didn’t mention it, Mr. Leigh. So it is 
at the bottom of the Parret? Just between the 
barge and the bank? ” 

44 Yes.” 

44 Oh, well, it can be recovered easily. Did you 
know, by the way, that the dead man has a bullet in 
his left shoulder? ” 

44 No, of course, Inspector, I didn’t know a thing 
like that, since it was so intensely dark.” 

44 You didn’t shoot the revolver when you got the 
mysterious blow from nowhere you have described? ” 
44 No, I didn’t shoot.” 

44 Then, or at any time? ” 

44 At no time.” 

44 And as to the motor cap ? ” 

44 That is now in my bedroom.” 

44 I’ll see it presently. You have in your posses- 
sion no other object connected with this business? ” 

44 Only the cap.” 

44 Where are the clothes of the murdered man ? ” 

44 As if I could know, officer ! ” 

44 He was perfectly naked, you say, when you found 
him? ” 

44 As far as I could see.” 

44 And quite warm to the touch, you say ? ” 

44 Yes.” 

44 But that means that the unfortunate man had 
just been murdered? ” 


66 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

“ 1 think that that is true.” 

“ Well, now, with your permission, I would like to 
see the clothes you wore last night, and look round 
your bedroom.” 

“ Ah, you want to search my place? ” 

“ I am compelled to.” 

“ Then, by all means. . . . Have a brandy-and- 
soda? ” 

“ No, thanks, Mr. Leigh, I never imbibe.” 

The officer closed his note-book. Then he added, 
as a sort of afterthought : “ This is a dark business, 
sir.” 

“ Dark enough,” Arthur said. 

“ The wonder is that you did not trouble to give 
information last night of a serious crime — a crime 
committed within your knowledge.” 

“ I ought to have done so,” answered Arthur, lean- 
ing now against the balustrade, with his legs crossed, 
and looking down at his feet. “ I had the thought, 
and the intention, as the Boots at the Feathers can 
prove, but you cannot conceive how nerve-shaking 
was all that inexplicable mystery. I feel that I have 
explained matters very badly.” 

“ I can understand that you would be unnerved, 
certainly,” answered Lawson : “ but that was all the 
more reason for you to seek the assistance of the 
police. Still, there’s no telling down what lane a 
man in a nervous state will bolt. Boots at the Feath- 
ers says you were very upset when he pointed out to 
you the blood on your hand, and that you left imme- 
67 


By Force of Circumstances 

diately, saying that you would see the police. But, 
then, you did not. You were too nervous, as you 
put it ? ” 

“ Is this official sarcasm? ” Arthur asked himself: 
“ is it an accusation? ” 

He looked the inspector squarely in the eyes. 

“ 1 am sorry now,” he said, “ I did not go to you, 
but it was my intention as soon as my guests left me 
to-day — I have some people coming to luncheon — to 
tell you what little I know, even though I assumed 
that you would have heard almost as much as I know 
myself from the bargemen, who, on their return to the 
barge, must have found the body.” 

By this time they were in the dining-room, where 
Arthur touched the bell for Jenkins, saying to the 
inspector : “ I think you will not require me to fol- 
low you in your investigations, as I am busy.” 

“ Not at all, sir,” said Lawson, who, nevertheless, 
seemed to be surprised. “ Only one other question 
for the present. The trail — can you tell us nothing 
as to that ? 99 

“Trail?” said Leigh: “this is the first I have 
heard ” 

“ You do not know, then, Mr. Leigh, that nearly 
all across the barley-field there is a track that seems 
to have been made by some enormous snake, wriggling 
straight through to the barge. Its object might 
have been to strike that poor man dead on her deck. 
I have read in a paper, sir, that in ancient times, 
ages before men were created, there were great beasts 
68 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

of this kind going about, elephants as big as this 
mansion, and creeping things a hundred yards long; 
and it looks as if one of them had survived till now, 
and woke from its sleep last night by the Parret to 
set to its work again. . . . But I think you said, sir, 
that you can tell us nothing of this strange trail? ” 

Certainly the heavy-limbed policeman could have 
chosen no surer means of astounding his hearer. 

44 This, I repeat, is the first I have heard of it,” 
answered Arthur, staring, with an even deeper sense 
of wonder at the happenings of the night. 

Just then Jenkins came in answer to the bell. 

44 Inspector Lawson wishes to look through the 
place, Jenkins,” Arthur said. 44 See to it, will you? ” 
and in a lower tone he added : 44 How is the luncheon 
going? ” 

Jenkins, who had a most solemn face, assured him 
that the luncheon would be to his taste, on which 
Arthur returned to the balcony, and again took in 
hand Mowle and Mowle’s letter. Deeply interesting 
though that letter was to him, minute after minute 
passed in which another and yet deeper interest, the 
interest of Inspector Lawson’s manner and words, so 
pre-occupied him that again it remained unread. 
Presently, however, his eyes fell a-reading of their 
own accord. 

44 The will, a copy of which we enclose, constitutes 
you his sole heir, but there is a singular, and, in your 
interests, a most unfortunate omission : namely, that 
not one word is said as to the disposal of the person- 
69 


By Force of Circumstances 

alty, nor have we been able to trace the existence of 
any monies or securities beyond a sum of £8,000 de- 
posited in a bank, and ear-marked for a specific 
purpose. 

“ It will elucidate a difficult matter if we state that 
the probate value of the Abbey Manor estate (which 
for present purposes may be regarded as also its 
mortgage value) is £100,000. Now, a year before 
his death, Mr. Rollaston Leigh mortgaged the prop- 
erty for £150,000, a sum so excessively greater than 
its real value, that we asked the mortgagees, Messrs. 
Dix and Churchill, a well-known and reputable firm, 
to permit us to inspect the mortgage deed. They 
agreed readily, and we found it quite in order, so we 
can only assume that, by some private arrangement, 
Mr. Rollaston Leigh first advanced £50,000 to Dix 
and Churchill, and then had that sum returned to 
him, together with the actual mortgage value of the 
estate, while the whole sum was covered by the deed.” 

It was at this point in the long letter that Arthur 
Leigh’s face blanched, as the certainty of an un- 
dreamed-of disaster, of ruin itself, began to dawn 
upon him. But biting upon his cigar between his 
teeth, he proceeded : 

“ It must be clearly understood that we are speak- 
ing thus plainly as between solicitors and client, since 
there is no positive proof in our hands of such a trans- 
action between Mr. Rollaston Leigh and the mort- 
gagees, Dix and Churchill. Nevertheless, on the face 
of it, as you see yourself, Dix and Churchill have lent 
70 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

one-third more than the value of the estate, though 
the common practice is to lend only two-thirds of 
that value. 

“ This mortgage falls due twelve months after the 
decease of the mortgagor, that is to say, about six 
months hence. 

“ The sum of £8,000, already mentioned, together 
with the accrued rents, was intended to pay the suc- 
cession duty, costs, and interest on the mortgage, 
and was calculated so nicely that, had we not been 
able to save some small amounts, owing to the altera- 
tion of the death duties this year, there would have 
been no surplus. As matters stand, we have pleasure 
in enclosing a cheque for £450, which, with the £100 
already advanced, represents a total of £550 at your 
disposal. 

“ For the rest, the most painstaking inquiry has 
failed to reveal the whereabouts of the large sum of 
£150,000 paid to Mr. Rollaston Leigh by the mort- 
gagees, Dix and Churchill, in Bank of England notes. 
As Mr. Leigh never expended his annual income, the 
£50,000 already alluded to (which was actually 
realized by him through his bank just before the 
execution of the mortgage) probably represented his 
savings. It is impossible to say what has become of 
all this money. The mass of bank-notes may still be 
in existence in some hiding-place, or it may have been 
given away anonymously to institutions. 

“ Of course, the net result of Mr. Rollaston Leigh’s 
action is disastrous for you. If, within six months, 
71 


By Force of Circumstances 

you cannot obtain at least £50,000, and arrange a 
fresh mortgage for £100,000, Dix and Churchill, the 
present mortgagees, will foreclose on the estate. 
That this was your grandfather’s intention cannot be 
doubted. He meant to inflict upon you the torture of 
coming into possession of a splendid property, and 
losing it again almost as soon as you regarded it as 
your own. He assumed that you would be utterly 
unable to raise the £50,000 necessary to avert fore- 
closure, and, if, in fact, you cannot raise this sum, 
it is our duty to advise you that you are quite pow- 
erless in the matter. You will even observe that your 
grandfather went so far as to limit your period of 
possession to six months, lest perhaps you might have 
sufficient time to obtain the money by some means, as, 
for instance, by marriage.” 

“ Your guests are now coming up the drive, sir.” 

It was Jenkins who spoke, and it was in a voice 
which the good Jenkins hardly recognized, that Leigh 
answered him : “ That’s all right, Jenkins. Kindly 
open the Abbot’s Port. That will be more convenient 
for them.” 

Jenkins waited an instant. Probably he expected 
his master to hurry forth. Then he bowed himself 
away. But Arthur did not stir under this burden of 
care that had come suddenly upon his back. He sat 
numb, demoralized, his eyes of themselves reading, 
as it were apart from himself, the words : “ . . . ob- 
tain the money by some means, as, for instance, by 
marriage. . . .” 


72 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 

That made him smile bitterly. . . . 

“ Permit us to say in conclusion that we regret ex- 
ceedingly 'that our firm should figure in any way in a 
transaction which is both discreditable and despicable. 
We should have refused to deal with it, had not your 
absence from England rendered it advisable that you 
should at least be given a chance of saving the prop- 
erty somehow. We have put the situation briefly and 
free from legal technicalities. Of course, we are 
entirely at your command. If you care to consult 
another firm of solicitors, we shall be pleased to 
give them all the information in our power, and 
with renewed assurances of our regard and deep 
regret, 

“ We are, 

“ Dear Sir, 

“ Your obedient Servants, 

“ Mowle and Mowle.” 

Then there came chatter and laughter, a little 
throng of footsteps sounding near, and now Arthur 
was on his feet, an older man by ten years, the letter 
crumpled into a ball by the spasm of his clenched 
fingers. In another moment he was out on the lawn, 
and declaring himself charmed. 

They were a party of five, people who carried with 
them a certain globe-trotting, motoring, yachting 
atmosphere. They had traveled from Burnham in a 
motor-car, and Mr. Chauncey Bagot, who acted as 
chauffeur, duly had on a leather motor cap, while over 
73 


By Force of Circumstances 

a costume out of muslin’s fairy-land Miss Elinor Gage 
Hinton was volumed in a great lubberly ponyskin 
motor coat. 

44 I have to acknowledge myself in your debt, Mr. 
Leigh,” said Mr. Hinton at once, 44 for your kind- 
ness to my daughter yesterday in her bicycling acci- 
dent, and for your invitation to this delightful place 
of yours.” 

44 Of mine, he thinks ! ” commented Arthur sourly 
to himself, and the word ruin, ruin, beat regularly like 
a pulse in the background of his being. 

Mr. Hinton was a substantial man of middle age, 
bearded, but with a shaven lip which gave him a se- 
verely Nonconformist air. The American 44 Who’s 
Who ” described him as 44 A well-known Philadelphia 
iron-master.” He looked it. It must have been from 
the distaff side that Elinor obtained her whiff of 
wood-nymph sinuosity. 

As to the married couple, the two George F. 
Bateses, they were of a solid and middle-aged type, 
remarkable for nothing save a Chicago accent. But 
in spite of this dead weight in the way of the com- 
monplace, the party on the whole was notable, for 
there was 44 Elinor,” and far more noteworthy than 
even 44 Elinor,” or than any other human being whom 
Arthur Leigh remembered ever to have seen, was Mr. 
Bagot. 

At the mere mention of his name in Elinor’s note, 
Arthur felt a twinge of jealousy, such as every young 
man feels as to the suspected presence of another 
74 


The Circumstances Take a Stride 


young man dangling after a pretty girl, even in 
cases where the heart is not deeply concerned. But 
that was before the reading of Mowle and Mowle’s 
letter. The potential lover was suddenly dead in 
Arthur. The only sentiment of which he was con- 
scious now was one of annoyance. He had been forced 
into the pose of an impostor, making believe to be 
walking on rock when all below him was hollow as 
wind. Even if this had not been so, still he would 
have felt no jealousy, since Mr. Bagot appeared to 
be at least fifty, and was anything but an Adonis. 
Arthur’s interest in the man was, therefore, imper- 
sonal, such as one cannot but feel in the presence of 
any very extraordinary being. 

After the compliments usual from visitors to the 
Abbey as to the beauty of the place, all moved for- 
ward over the lawn to enter the house, and Arthur’s 
foot was on the steps of the fa9ade, when out came 
a man whom, for the moment, he had almost forgot- 
ten — Inspector Lawson. 

Arthur could not keep down the blush that mounted 
to his cheeks. The inspector had in his hand the 
motor cap found on the bank of the Parret, and, as 
he drew aside to permit the entrance of the party, he 
held up the cap, saying : 

“ I think I will take this at once, Mr. Leigh, with 
your permission.” 

At this all eyes naturally turned upon the leather 
cap, and Mr. George F. Bates, with half a laugh, 
made the remark: 


75 


By Force of Circumstances 

u Why, Bagot, one would swear that that’s your 
cap, the one you lost last night ! ” 

“ It is it, surely ! ” agreed Mr. Chauncey Bagot, 
bending toward the cap in the inspector’s hand. 
“ May one have a look at it ? ” 

He took the cap and examined it. 

“ Ah, no,” he said presently, “ not the same. Mine 
had my initials in ink on the lining. . . . Marvel- 
ously like it though — same maker, the very same sort 
of cap — but not mine.” 

And he handed back the cap to the inspector as 
the party moved inward at the summons of the 
luncheon gong. 


76 


CHAPTER V 


THE CIRCUMSTANCES BECOME INVOLVED 

“ Oh, beware of Chauncey Bagot, Mr. Leigh ! ” 

It was Elinor Hinton who spoke, and Arthur Leigh 
was hardly less astonished than he had been the night 
before, when, on returning to the deck of the barge 
from his fall, he had found there the naked dead 
man on a spot where he had just before groped and 
found nothing. 

“ Beware of Chauncey Bagot ! ” — her friend, whom 
she had brought to luncheon with him ! Yet with so 
much earnestness, with so much furtiveness had she 
uttered those four words! 

They had risen from table, were going out to the 
balcony, and of the five visitors Elinor was the hind- 
ermost, while Arthur came last of all; and it was 
over her shoulder that she had whispered it, with her 
lips as much on as at his ear : it was all but a touch. 
And that slight token of complete confidence was the 
strangest thing of all, for Elinor was no flirt. 

Now, at table, Mr. Chauncey Bagot had declared 
that he had once met the dead Rollaston Leigh. He 
knew of the old man’s belief that the souls of the dead 
are apt to look out of the eye of dog or cat, and when 
everyone at the table had smiled at this craze, Bagot 
77 


By Force of Circumstances 

did not agree, saying, “ No, the thing may not be so 
crazy as it sounds.” 

Further, he expressed a wish to visit the “ Place 
of Sojourn,” which was Rollaston Leigh’s name for 
the out-houses in which the animals were lodged, and 
to examine the whole delightful old place at leisure, 
since he had long known of and desired to look into 
its antiquities. 

He went so far as to invite himself to call alone 
upon Arthur the following afternoon, and Arthur 
duly professed his pleasure at the prospect. 

Arthur, therefore, could only assume now that this 
extraordinary warning of Elinor Hinton had refer- 
ence to that self-invitation of Bagot’s. 

He could not answer. Another syllable and the 
two would have been observed or heard. The instant 
her intense warning had been whispered, Elinor was 
humming an air from La Sonnambula ; and the next 
moment they were on the balcony. 

Bagot chose the wicker chair by the balcony rail, 
in sitting on which he sent it singing through a series 
of creaks, for though hardly tall, he was portly. He 
looked like a mediaeval monk with a shaven counte- 
nance that bloomed like the moon and a batch of chins 
beneath it. His skin was pasty and coarse in the 
grain, his nose gross. But he was somehow not ill- 
looking. His hair was black and plenteous, his eyes 
blue — and in eyes and mouth were the clear indices of 
power and mind. 

Arthur had found him at table a talker who knew 

78 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

everything and something of everybody. But the 
fault of his conversation was that no one else could 
find a chance to say anything, though Mrs. Bates 
every now and then suddenly found some words that 
needed to be said, and then, no matter who was speak- 
ing, out they ploughed their way against all comers. 
Thus, in the very midst of an explanation by Mr. 
Bagot of how Alpine glaciers are formed, Mrs. Bates 
on a sudden remarked: 

“ What a strange thing that about a body with- 
out clothing being found on a barge last night not 
far from here ! ” 

At once this became the topic. 

Even Mr. Bagot, who generally preferred subjects 
on a higher plane, such as glaciers and world-poli- 
tics, took part in it: for an outline of the facts of 
the matter had appeared under big head-lines in a 
special edition of a Bristol morning paper. 

“ Not one of the bargemen appears to have been 
on the barge,” remarked Mr. Hinton, “ so there 
seems to be no question of the guilt of any of them.” 

“ No,” said Mrs. Bates, “ and what bargemen 
would ever have had the cunning, after committing a 
murder, to make the body unrecognizable by remov- 
ing all the clothing and destroying the face? That’s 
’cute, too ! For murderers are generally detected by 
finding out someone who had a motive for the crime, 
but in this case no motive can ever be discovered, 
since the identity of the dead man is hidden. It’s 
’cute, mind you, real ’cute ! ” 

79 


By Force of Circumstances 

She nodded her head knowingly. 

“ Oh, 4 never ’ is a hard word,” said her husband. 
44 In the first place, somebody will be missed some- 
where, and sooner or later there’ll be a clue to con- 
nect that missing man with this dead man.” 

“ Now, I call that a shrewd observation,” put in 
Bagot, moving his thick fat palms together with a 
movement of one washing hands, in his habitual con- 
tented way. 

44 As to that,” said Mrs. Bates, not to be beaten, 
44 people are always disappearing, and what is there 
to show which of the three or four people who disap- 
peared in England last night is this dead man? ” 

44 There is something in that too, Mrs. Bates,” said 
Bagot. 44 It is the women, after all, who have intui- 
tion.” 

“ But the really perplexing mystery,” said Mr. 
Hinton, 46 is how the body was taken on board the 
barge, for, by all accounts, the laborer who was be- 
spoken by the gentleman on the barge says that the 
plank connecting it with the shore had dropped 
down.” 

44 And who was that gentleman ? ” asked Mrs. 
Bates. 44 Why couldn’t his name be published? And 
what on earth was he doing there alone on a barge at 
that time of night, anyhow? ” 

44 He may have gone there to — meditate,” Bagot 
suggested blandly. 

44 You can’t meditate on a barge,” answered Mrs. 
Bates : 44 barges smell.” 


80 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

44 He may have had an assignation there,” sug- 
gested Bates. 44 Isn’t there a connection between 
Beauty and the Barge ? ” 

44 Or the gentleman may be no gentleman, but an 
assassin,” said Mr. Hinton. 

The conversation had slipped into jest, but now 
Arthur Leigh, who had hitherto remained silent, 
thought it high time to interfere. 

44 No, he was not the assassin, Mr. Hinton. It was 
I who was on the barge.” 

Elinor uttered a slight cry, almost a scream. 
Every eye stared roundly. 

44 My dear sir! ” exclaimed Bagot, almost hinting 
that Leigh’s statement was a shocking one. 

44 Do tell ! ” said Mrs. Bates eagerly. 

Under the circumstances, Arthur had to tell some- 
thing, but he told it shortly, excused himself from 
offering opinions on the ground that the affair was 
in the hands of the police, and at once proposed a 
stroll through the grounds. 

They went, and by the time they were at the end 
of the three lawns had separated. A hundred yards 
down the avenue were Mr. Hinton and Mrs. Bates, 
then Mr. Bates and Elinor in the middle, and behind 
them Mr. Bagot, with Arthur, who, as he talked, 
kept an eye on the graceful undulations of Miss Hin- 
ton’s movements. 

Then the groups again transformed themselves: 
Mr. Bagot had something to say to Mr. Bates, 
trotted forward, suggested Arthur to Elinor, and 
81 


By Force of Circumstances 

soon the two were together. The two Bateses and Mr. 
Hinton went out of sight somewhere in front among 
the fruit trees, and Bagot, for his part, had gone 
down a side alley, apparently interested in botan- 
izing. 

It was a glorious June noonday. The sun, shining 
down through the foliage, dappled Elinor’s hair with 
a pattern of gold leaves, bringing back to Arthur’s 
mind Jenkins’s repetition of the rhyme of 44 The Belle 
Damosel.” 

44 What did you mean ? ” Arthur asked her. 

She shrugged her shoulders prettily, and was silent 
for a space. 

Then she said : 44 Do you not happen to know who 
Mr. Bagot is? Have you never heard his name? ” 

44 Never.” 

44 He has written several books on science,” she 
said, 44 and one on music — he plays the violin with 
distinction. Till five years ago he was a professor 
of anthropology at Harvard ” 

44 Ah, now I understand your warning — a profes- 
sor of anthropology ” 

44 Don’t jest!” she murmured, looking before her 
with a grave face. 

44 Why not ? I think I was born to laugh in the 
face of the devil.” 

She had the faintest way of shrugging the right 
shoulder that was somehow Spanish in its abandon , 
and now again she lifted it, saying: 

44 Perhaps I ought to tell you more of Mr. Chaun- 
82 


The Circumstances Become Involved 


cey Bagot, and since what I have to tell is nothing 
but good, you must pick the raison d'etre of my warn- 
ing out of it as best you can. But I do warn you, 
because you were good to me yesterday, because — I 
choose, and because I am sometimes supposed to have 
instincts. In the morning I wake up knowing 
things. But you don’t want to hear of me, but of 
Mr. Bagot ” 

“No really, there you are quite wrong,” broke in 
Arthur. 

“Mr. Chauncey Bagot — professor of anthropology 
— till five years ago. Since then he has lived in Eng- 
land. He lives in England now at 4 Nielpahar,’ not 
fifteen miles from here. He is an old and honored 
friend of my father, and of many an estimable family 
in the two worlds — what better recommendation could 
you have, Mr. Leigh? Only I say that sometimes I 
wake up knowing things.” 

“ I am sure you do,” cried Arthur, when her sil- 
very staccato, clear and distinct as a Florentine bell, 
ceased to charm his ears. “ But admit, Miss Hinton, 
if you set yourself to say nothing but good of a per- 
son, you make it hard for a second person to ‘ be- 
ware ’ of him.” 

Elinor nibbled for a few moments at the stalk of a 
daisy that she stooped to pick up. Then she glanced 
half shyly into Leigh’s face. 

“ Have you kept my secret as to the kidnapping 
incident of yesterday? ” she asked. 

“ I always keep my promises,” answered Arthur, 
83 


By Force of Circumstances 

wondering at the change in her manner, for there 
could be no mistaking the irony of her summing up of 
Bagot’ s perfections. 

64 Well, then, one good turn deserves another,” said 
Elinor : 44 1 will keep on telling you things in Mr. 
Bagot’s favor, until I somehow suggest what I have 
woke up knowing. Listen! Mr. Bagot is a man 
with a purpose — more, he is a man with two purposes, 
and also with a will not of the usual 4 iron,’ but of 
that coldest drawn Bessemer steel with which the 
rams of battleships are made. Two purposes and a 
will! The first of the purposes is to possess some 
day, sooner or later — for his patience is great — the 
body and soul of a girl for whom he has conceived a 
passion, the name of the girl being immaterial to you, 
Mr. Leigh, though I may mention that she, too, has 
a will, and there will be a fight for it, tooth and nail.” 

Arthur laughed to himself, muttering : 44 By gad, 
there I believe you.” 

But he said aloud: 

44 And the second of these heroic purposes of Mr. 
Bagot? ” 

44 The second is truly heroic,” said Elinor, 44 and is 
no less fixedly willed than the first. It is to bring 
about the Millennium on a sudden, Mr. Leigh; to 
make of this world in a week a new world ” 

44 Rather a tall order ! ” remarked Arthur, smiling. 

44 It sounds wild?” asked Elinor, arching at him 
the perfect crescents of her eyebrows, 44 but, then, 
you have seen the man’s face, and there is no more 


84 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

of the dreamer there than in a cheese, or in a butcher 
with his chopper at work — oh, to be frank, I highly 
admire, I should almost love, this man, if I did not — 
loathe him.” 

The last two words burst from her in a passionate 
whisper. Not knowing quite how to take her mood, 
Leigh treated it lightly. 

44 And I should loathe him, if you loved him,” he 
said gallantly. 

44 Can you not be serious? ” she asked, facing her 
companion full, with grave eyes. 

64 1 must be,” he said, 44 though it is difficult, for — 
shall I tell you? — you are so full of the wine of life 
and vitality, I catch gayety and interest from you, 
and forgetfulness of grief. If you were up for sale 
like some rare vintage, and I was rich, I believe Fd 
be the highest bidder present.” 

She stopped in her walk. 44 1 thought, Mr. Leigh, 
from the way you handled that idiot who attacked me 
last night that you were something; but I see that 
you are merely — man.” 

44 And you,” he retorted, 44 are the best thing 
going, a mere girl.” 

44 And I was speaking so frankly to this trifler!” 

44 Not more honest in purpose than I,” protested 
Arthur, to whom the very incense of her presence was 
intoxicating. 

44 Mr. Leigh, listen to what I am saying.” 

44 By all means. Let us resume our walk. You 
were telling me about 4 The Millennium, by C. Bagot.’ 

85 


By Force of Circumstances 

How does Mr. Bagot propose to introduce this golden 
age?” 

44 By means of some invention which for the last 
nine or ten years he has been busy at — some me- 
chanical device which is to transform everything. 
Its nature probably no soul but himself yet can guess. 
I only know that he keeps the thing in a huge shed 
in the grounds at 4 Nielpahar.’ But the point I want 
you to realize is this — that this invention will cost a 
great deal of money to complete, and that Mr. Bagot 
is not rich.” 

44 The point for me ? ” cried Arthur, laughing, 
being quite cheery, now at the notion of his own 
downfall. 44 It would be wholly in vain for Mr. 
Bagot to seek to bring the Millennium through me. 
Miss Hinton, for it so happens that not two hours 
since I made the stimulating discovery that I am this 
day as poor as a church mouse, though you see me 
here apparently the lord of all I survey.” 

At this Elinor looked him again in the face with 
eyes less hard. 

44 I’m sorry,” she said. 44 But you take it coolly, 
and that is something.” 

44 1 seem to forget it in your presence. When you 
are gone, I’ll mope.” 

This time she did not resent his compliment. They 
walked on a little way in silence. 

44 But about Mr. Bagot,” she said presently : 44 one 
thing more. This morning, unfortunately, he was 
with us on the yacht — he is not properly one of our 
86 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

yachting party, you know, but he takes short cruises 
with us, then leaves us for a few days to get back to 
his invention. Well, after being away from us two 
days, he turned up this morning, so my father told 
him that we were going to lunch with a gentleman, 
and asked him to come. He refused. We pressed 
him. He refused, saying it was a bore. Then some- 
body mentioned that it was to Mr. Leigh of the 
Abbey Manor that we were going, and presently it 
was found that Mr. Bagot, who never changes his 
mind, was coming, too.” 

44 Well, he happens to have known my grandfather, 
and wanted to see this place, no doubt. Really, I 
find nothing worthy of suspicion in that.” 

44 No? But he is seeing the place now, yet he 
means to come again to see it on his own invitation 
to-morrow. Beware then.” 

44 Of what, though ? ” 

44 Mr. Leigh, the Greeks made of Persuasion a 
goddess, naming v her Peitho, and under the inspira- 
tion of Peitho lives Mr. Bagot. I have heard my 
father say that merely by the use of his tongue Mr. 
Bagot has induced the greatest miser in the world to 
hand him a hundred and seventy-five thousand dol- 
lars, though afterwards the miser beat his head upon 
something hard in asking himself : 4 Why did I do 
it? ’ I don’t, of course, know what Mr. Bagot wants 
of you, but I see fit to mention to you that, what- 
ever it is, he will get it, if you are not exceedingly 
careful.” 


87 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 He can’t ! ” cried Arthur with a laugh. 44 Even 
he cannot extract blood out of stone ! ” 

44 Gold comes out of stone,” answered Elinor, 44 and 
it is gold, I fancy, that he needs.” 

44 1 should not care to have you for an enemy. 
You are bitter, you are cruel ” 

44 Sh-h-h— look ! ” 

The words came in the faintest breath to Leigh’s 
ear. Their rambling had now brought them into the 
rosery, and, as they were moving very slowly on a 
moss path, they had made no sound in coming. 
Hence, through a chance vista between the leafage, 
Elinor could spy a somewhat curious proceeding at 
the other side of the garden. She moved a little to 
enable Leigh to see, touching him, putting pressure 
upon him to guide him to the right angle of vision. 

It was at the far end of the rosery where the old 
Benedictine wall stood, and the gargoyle in it, with 
the ivy tree, all gnarled and twisted, clinging to its 
ancient ribs. Well up the wall, perched among the 
leaves, was Mr. Chauncey Bagot. He was intently 
examining the gargoyle. He seemed to have some- 
thing in his hand with which he tapped the stone- 
work. Arthur thought that it might be a tiny ham- 
mer; while tapping, he appeared to listen for some 
sound. 

44 Mr. Bagot,” began Arthur — he was going to 
say, 44 Mr. Bagot is evidently an antiquarian,” but 
Elinor checked him with another intense 44 Sh-h-h.” 

It was too late, however. The man at the gar- 
88 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

goyle had perhaps heard that 44 Mr. Bagot.” At all 
events he glanced round, for one second his imple- 
ment remained uplifted in his hand; the next moment 
he was calling out to Elinor to come and appreciate 
the wonderful craftsmanship of the gargoyle. 

Arthur and Elinor walked forward, and almost 
immediately the two Bateses and Mr. Hinton re- 
appeared, to hear a lecture from Mr. Bagot on the 
antiquities of the Abbey, as to whose probable history 
he could tell far more than Arthur himself had ever 
known. But Arthur wondered what had become of 
the little tapper or hammer that he thought he had 
beheld in Mr. Bagot’s hand. This was no longer in 
evidence. 

It was now near three o’clock. Within ten minutes 
the 44 Belle Damosel,” as Arthur himself had learnt 
to call her, had taken her departure. She and the 
others expressed themselves delighted with their visit, 
and secured from Arthur a promise to visit them on 
the yacht. 

And now Arthur, left alone, moped, as he had 
vowed would be the case. The several clouds that 
had arisen in his sky formed themselves into one vault 
of darkness over him, and he uttered to himself the 
old saw : 44 Misfortunes never come singly.” 

He sat down and wrote to Mowle and Mowle, just 
saying that he saw no way out of his disaster, and 
had no instructions to give. Then he wrote to In- 
spector Lawson of Bridgewater, more particularly 
describing the spot at which he believed that the re- 
89 


By Force of Circumstances 

volver of the motorist had dropped from his hand, in 
case the police should endeavor to seek it in the 
river. He was summoned that evening to the inquest 
on the body of 44 a man unknown.” The proceedings 
were quite formal, and the inquiry was adjourned, to 
permit the police to obtain 44 evidence of identifica- 
tion.” 

From then to the visit of Mr. Bagot the next after- 
noon, he lived as in a vacuum, inert, though restless, 
with a sense of something impending upon him. The 
cloud lifted when Bagot was strolling with him in the 
rose garden. 

What did the man want? This question kept 
Arthur puzzled, even as he talked architecture in the 
abstract, heard Mr. Bagot discourse on the violin 
with shut eyes of rapture, stood with him looking at 
the 44 Place of Sojourn ” and its yawning inmates, 
sipped wine with him, or walked again in the gardens : 
what was Mr. Bagot after? 

Arthur had no sense of boredom meantime. That 
big head of Mr. Bagot’s was a source from which 
flowed oceans of entertaining discourse, and his 
throat knew no aching, but there was a sense of un- 
reality somewhere ; and the question still arose, what 
did he really want ? 

If it was information about the estate, about the 
position of Arthur’s affairs that he was after, he got 
it without difficulty, for, to his own surprise, Arthur 
found himself more open-minded with Bagot than 
with other men. Again and again he found himself 
90 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

telling things that he had had no intention of men- 
tioning. By the time the sun went down in glory 
clouds behind Bridgewater, Bagot had obtained from 
him every detail of what had happened at the Par- 
ret’s bank two nights before, had learnt many facts 
of his late grandfather’s habits and way of life, and 
even been posted in all the details contained in 
Mowle and Mowle’s letter. 

“ The value of the estate,” 1 he said to Arthur, “ is, 
you say, a hundred thousand. Yet your grandfather 
was able to effect a mortgage of a hundred and fifty 
thousand with Dix and Churchill. Do you know Dix 
and Churchill at all ? Have you ever met them P ” 

They were now sitting out on the balcony, and day 
was drawing fast toward the gloaming. Bagot had 
a big cigar which he took away and put back to his 
broad mouth amateurishly, like a girl learning to 
smoke. 

“ Do I know Dix and Churchill? ” repeated Arthur, 
a little surprised at the question : “ Personally, you 
mean? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ No — at this moment I cannot recall ever having 
heard their names. Do you , by chance, know 
them? ” 

“ Quite well — by repute.” 

“ But, then, Mr. Bagot, you know everybody and 
everything.” 

Arthur laughed a little. 

Mr. Bagot shook up a plump right leg which, 
91 


By Force of Circumstances 

crossed over the left, showed a bit of red sock be- 
tween his shoe and the end of his trousers, while his 
eyes struggled against the fumes of the cigar which 
he still puffed valiantly. 

44 These two men simply mean to 4 do 9 you, if you 
let them, Leigh,” he announced. 

44 Dix and Churchill? But Mowle and Mowle 
say in the letter that they are a highly reputable 
firm? ” 

44 1 believe that is true. It leads me to ask what is 
a highly reputable firm? Very often it means a firm 
that has acquired by habit the right to swindle with- 
out exciting remark. It seems to me clear enough that 
Dix and Churchill were deliberately in league with 
your grandfather to give you one taste of prosperity 
and then rob you of your inheritance, or they would 
never have taken a hand in the trick of receiving the 
fifty thousand from him privately, and then giving 
him a hundred and fifty thousand for what was only 
worth a hundred thousand. Depend upon it, they 
have some reason for being greedy to grab this place. 
Of course, Leigh, you will not let them? ” 

44 4 Will not 9 is forcible and good, Mr. Bagot,” 
answered Arthur. 44 But you do not suggest 
whence I am to get fifty thousand pounds within six 
months to prevent the foreclosure.” 

Bagot leant nearer. 44 Fifty thousand pounds is 
not a large sum ! To me, who have had much to do 
with millionaires, it seems little more than a puff of 
dust on the wind, and to a young man like you, with 
92 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

an agreeable physique, good breeding, and an ad- 
venturous turn, it should not be much. There are 
ways and means — you could marry money.” 

“ Ah ! ” said Arthur, amused. That was the only 
passage in the solicitors’ letter that he had not 
recited. 

• 44 I mean, of course — abroad.” 

44 And why abroad ? ” 

44 I take it — am I right? — that you are going 
abroad.” 

44 Why so ? At the present moment I have no 
such thought.” 

Mr. Bagot’s eyes rested some time upon him with a 
souppon of surprise in them. 

44 Then, I mistook you,” he said. 44 1 took it that 
you would deem it best to cut and run until this nasty 
complication with the body on the barge had blown 
over.” 

At this Arthur, with his hands on his chair-arms, 
stared at the speaker with some amazement, making- 
no answer. 

44 You did not consider that it was so bad as that, 
I see,” said Bagot, throwing away at last the cigar 
which baffled him. 44 Innocent men won’t fly when 
they should — 4 the righteous are as bold as a lion,’ 
and so, like lions, get slaughtered, while the cautious 
guilty go unpunished. But this is serious, Leigh. 
Oh, this thing is grave, believe me. I speak as a 
friend, and also as an older man than yourself, who 
has learned the world, and the face of fate, and the 
93 


By Force of Circumstances 

way in which circumstances habitually, by their in- 
nate law, jump and turn out. Events are so often 
like snowballs — let them but once arise, and, as they 
roll, they grow to bigness. Here are you suddenly, 
without fault of your own, with your feet in a net: 
and you say, 4 My feet are in a net of which the 
meshes are few, and with an effort or two I am free.’ 
But there is a certain crassness and pertinacity in 
circumstances — at least, I seem to have observed such 
a fact. The course of events goes on. The meshes 
multiply and tighten ; and to him that hath is given ; 
and from him that hath not is taken away. Wait — 
you will see if I am not a son of the prophets. I 
hope not in this case: but I, in your place, would 
instantly clear out, marry in a hurry for money, 
defeat the scheme of Dix and Churchill, and after a 
year or so return to enjoy quiet and prosperity.” 

Arthur Leigh looked at the ground, frowning. It 
suddenly struck him that insensibly, little by little, 
Bagot had gone far in the way of interference in his 
private affairs ! For a minute he said nothing. The 
lax skin of Bagot’s brow, which was pushed forward 
quite close to Arthur’s, twitched and twitched again 
in the silence. Then Arthur laughed quietly. 

44 I am hardly one of the cutting and running 
sort,” he said ; 44 and as to marrying money, no, that’s 
hardly in my vein either. I’ll face the music.” 

46 Well, that’s gamely said, too,” said Bagot. 
44 That’s gallant. But, from another point of view, 
it is neither game nor gallant to give in, to be 
94 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

an easy victim, to let Dix and Churchill have their 
triumph ” 

i( If they must, they must, I suppose.” 

“ Oh, they needn’t. You are young, full of ener- 
gies, possibilities. ... If there’s no other way out, 
why, I’ll advance you the fifty thousand pounds my- 
self ! ” 

Arthur sprang up with a start. 

44 You? ” he almost shouted. 

44 That is, if I can raise it. You hear me talking 
big, Leigh, but I am by no means a wealthy man. 
I am a devising and a contriving one, however — 
a man made to find a way out — and doubtless I 
could manage to raise such a sum, you giving me a 
lease of the Abbey estate for such a length of time 
as ” 

Arthur was slowly turning away before the 
sentence was fully uttered. He seemed to see a light 
streaming upon the purpose of Bagot’s visit and of 
all the afternoon of talk. Bagot wanted the Abbey 
estate ! The eyes of the two men met and dwelt to- 
gether during some seconds, while through the mind 
of Arthur passed the two thoughts : 44 Why does he 
want the Abbey?” and then, 44 But why should he 
not ? ” At the same time there raced through his 
brain a remembrance of that word of Elinor’s — 44 Be- 
ware ! ” she had said, 44 beware of Chauncey Bagot 
then ” — during this very visit. 

But Bagot was not one who readily bred distrust, 
nor was it easy to guess at his inner mind. After 
95 


By Force of Circumstances 

being bathed in a long afternoon of his talk, the im- 
pression left upon the bather was that if he was in- 
scrutable, he was honest all through and a very 
Solomon in wisdom. 

44 Let me understand you ” Arthur began. He 

was interrupted by Jenkins, who brought him a letter, 
and a parcel. 

44 Just open it,” he said to Jenkins, meaning the 
parcel ; and he himself, asking to be excused, opened 
the letter. It ran : 

44 Dear Sir : 

44 As I shall be passing close to the Abbey Manor 
on the evening of the 9th instant, I shall feel it a 
privilege if you will then give me the opportunity of 
a brief interview for a discussion of affairs as between 
yourself and my firm. If you cannot be at home 
between eight and ten on that evening, perhaps you 
will favor me with a telegram at the above address to 
say so. 

44 Yours truly, 

44 E. J. Dix.” 

Dix! — of Dix and Churchill — for the note bore at 
the top the printed style of the firm. And Mr. Dix 
had wished to interview Arthur on the evening of the 
9th — two days gone — the very evening of Arthur’s 
experience on the barge moored in the Parret ! 

Arthur looked at the date on the note — the 8th; 
he looked at the date on the postmark : it had not been 
96 


The Circumstances Become Involved 

posted till that day — the 12th. He could not un- 
derstand. . . . 

But J enkins with the parcel was at the French win- 
dow leading to the balcony. Having no knife with 
him, he had gone within to cut the string, and, now, 
as he reappeared, Arthur stepped up to him, took the 
parcel, and raised the cover of a green cardboard 
shirt-box. Inside lay folded a shirt — not a new one, 
nor one fresh from the laundry. It had been worn. 
There were two gold studs in the f ront ; and there was 
blood on it ; and a revolver with it. 

Gazing down at it, he walked inward, without ask- 
ing to be excused, without any word, leaving Bagot 
outside; and within he laid the box on a table, the 
letter from Dix beside it, to stand staring down upon 
both. 

He saw that the shirt had been tom in the left 
shoulder, and knew that there it had been pierced by 
a bullet: it was there the blood stain was. And the 
revolver was the revolver of the motorist who had 
tried to seize Elinor ; the revolver which Arthur had 
dropped into the Parret — the same, or one of a 
brace. 

Several minutes he stood there staring. In his 
brain somehow Bagot’s words kept recurring. 
44 Events go their course ” . . . “ grow like snow- 
balls ” ... 44 a son of the prophets.” 

On the lapel of the shirt in marking ink were some 
initials and a number : 44 E. J. D. No. 8,” and because 
the note was lying there bj r the side of the parcel, and 
97 


By Force of Circumstances 

because his eye at almost the same moment caught the 
“ E. J. D.” on the shirt lapel and the “ E. J. Dix ” 
on the note, he started. . . . 

All at once Jenkins was beside him again, mutter- 
ing in a most awed voice: 

“ Inspector Furneaux, of Scotland Yard, to see 
you, sir ! ” 

Even as Arthur turned to open his lips, Mr. Bagot, 
who had entered with an urgent and earnest furtive- 
ness on tiptoe, was at his ear, hurriedly whispering: 
“ Whatever it is that has come to agitate you, con- 
ceal it instantly. The officer is coming in here. . . . 
He will see! . . ” 

He actually helped to draw over the parcel an 
Armenian cloth on a divan, while Arthur slipped the 
note into a pocket. 

One moment afterwards a man, slight, but wiry, 
spry and bright-eyed, stood at the doorway, looking 
in. Behind him was Jenkins, gaping helplessly. 

“Inspector Furneaux?” asked Arthur, advancing. 

“ Mr. Leigh? ” said the stranger, and made a for- 
ward step. 


98 


CHAPTER VI 


DARK FOOTSTEPS 

As Arthur and the detective faced each other 
Bagot’s smooth voice came to them. 

“ I won’t wait, Leigh, as you are engaged,” he 
said, 44 we shall meet soon again,” and he put out his 
hand to his host, though his eyes dwelt steadily upon 
Inspector Furneaux the while. 

44 Glad to see you at any time,” was Leigh’s con- 
ventional phrase. 

Bagot, laying down the old violin which he had 
found in the house, went out, while Inspector Fur- 
neaux, for his part, remarked with a certain affable- 
ness: 

44 Excuse me, if I have intruded, Mr. Leigh. I 
couldn’t quite make out what your servant meant me 
to do. He seems — agitated.” 

44 That is all right, Inspector,” Arthur answered. 
44 We can talk here. Please be seated.” 

The inspector looked about him, then deliberately 
stepped forward and sat on the divan, beneath whose 
Armenian cloth was concealed the bloodstained shirt 
of 44 E. J. D.” and the revolver that was either the 
same, or a pattern of, the motorist’s revolver dropped 
99 


By Force of Circumstances 

by Arthur into the Parret. There, under the cloth, 
was quite visible the square shape of the box. 

“ Perhaps I need hardly state on what business I 
am here, Mr. Leigh,” the detective said. He held his 
two palms on his knees; and, seated thus, he had an 
air of being on the point of darting up to spring at 
something, he being a little man with sloping shoul- 
ders, an elongated, sprightly neck, a long face which 
was clean shaven, and quite an attractive smile and 
active cat’s eyes. 

44 Nor,” he added, 44 need I take up much of your 
time, since I have here the substance of your state- 
ment made to Inspector Lawson of Bridgewater — ” 
he showed his notebook — 44 only I have a question or 
two — thanks, thanks, I’ll have one — though I never 
smoke — but I work always with the scent of a cigar 
under my nose — a question or two — as for example 
this one : What was the nature of the quarrel between 
yourself and your grandfather? ” 

Arthur, in the act of moving a chair so as to face 
Furneaux, glanced round in some surprise. 

44 My grandfather had certain beliefs as to the 
transmigration of souls which on one occasion re- 
sulted in a cruelty to a dog of mine,” he said, 
44 though before that, there never had been much love 
lost ” 

44 1 see,” said Mr. Furneaux, moving his nose to 
and fro over the cigar. 44 Mr. Rollaston Leigh was 
undoubtedly a character.” 

He was silent a little ; then he added : 44 But a man 


100 


Dark Footsteps 

of no little skill in the matter of horticulture and 
landscape gardening ; the laying out of these grounds 
may be somewhat out of the common, but well con- 
ceived, well conceived.” 

“No doubt he did understand that sort of thing,” 
Arthur agreed, without comprehending to what this 
tended. 

“ And architecture, too,” said the Inspector : “ he 
knew his way there.” 

“ Possibly,” said Arthur, “ though I am not aware 
that he made many changes in the house itself during 
his long life.” 

“No? Still, I think from what I have been able 
to gather — you, of course, were away at the time 
of his death, so that, if about that time he made any 
repairs, you would not have been aware of them? ” 

“ He made none, I think, or I should have seen 
them, or been told of them.” 

Inspector Furneaux’s eyes shot one keen underlook 
at the other’s face. Then, rapidly, against one of 
the queries in his notebook, he made a pencil dot — so 
rapidly that he did not seem to have done more than 
dab the pencil against the paper. 

“ So that we may take it that no repairs have 
lately been made in the house,” he said. “ I ask these 
questions, though they have no connection with your 
curious experiences on the bank of the Parret, be- 
cause — well, it would waste your time to explain to 
you my reason for each line of inquiry that occurs to 
me haphazard. This is a good cigar, it is what is 
101 


By Force of Circumstances 

called 4 green-rolled,’ and I only envy those who have 
the gallantry to put a narcotic poison into their 
mouth, sir. At any rate, we may put that down as 
proved, that your grandfather was of eccentric char- 
acter : and may we take it as an added fact that while 
leaving you apparently wealthy, he has left you really 
poor? ” 

Arthur wished to reply aloud : 44 Since you ob- 
viously know all about my affairs, why the deuce 
ask? ” But something in the influence of Inspector 
Furneaux’s gaze, whose watchfulness seemed never 
to wink, made him answer merely that the fact 
was so. 

44 Hence, you find yourself saddled with a mort- 
gage to the tune of ? ” 

44 A hundred and fifty thousand pounds.” 

44 And the necessity to raise fifty thousand pounds 

within ? ” 

44 Six months.” 

44 The mortgagees being ? ” 

44 A firm called Dix and Churchill.” 

44 Old friends of your grandfather? — or not? ” 

44 1 have no idea . . . though I seem now to have 
some recollection of hearing him speak at some time 
of a Mr. Churchill.” 

44 Of Mr. Churchill : never of Mr. Dix, no ? ” 

44 To the best of my recollection, I have never heard 
the name of Dix till — yesterday.” 

44 No? and how did you hear it then? ” 

44 1 saw it in a letter from my lawyers.” 

102 


Dark Footsteps 

“ Of course, that was it. So, you had not then, it 
seems, received a note which Mr. Dix wrote to you on 
the 8th of the month P ” 

Arthur started, hesitated, and said: “No,” with- 
out qualification. The note had come upon him so 
suddenly only some moments before, and Inspector 
Furneaux had come so suddenly on top of the note, 
that he had had no time to reflect upon its signifi- 
cance, upon the significance of the shirt and revolver, 
or upon his proper line of conduct with respect to 
them. 

“ Mr. Dix, by the way, did write you a note on the 
8th, Mr. Leigh,” Furneaux said, putting the cigar 
to alternate nostrils, keeping his eyes steadily fixed 
on Leigh. 

“ He may not have posted it.” 

Arthur breathed freely again. He deemed the ex- 
planation rather clever. 

“ Well, that is a possibility ; he may not have 
posted it. And yet ” — now the little man darted like 
a thunder-clap to his feet, slapping down both hands 
on a chair-back — “ you have that note in your pocket 
now, Mr. Leigh ! ” 

Arthur, quite taken aback, half stood up, for one 
moment pallid, but then he remarked : “ You have 

crushed your cigar, Inspector: have another ” 

And he coolly held out the cigar box. Campaigning 
had done that much for him, at any rate. He was 
not to be frightened by a policeman. 

“ The crushed one will do,” said the inspector, with 
103 


By Force of Circumstances 

an equally sudden calm, picking up and sniffing the 
cigar as he sank back into his chair. 44 Kindly hand 
me that note, Mr. Leigh.” 

64 It is here,” said Arthur, producing it. Furneaux 
immediately seized upon it with a greed and triumph 
which he could not conceal, saying : 44 Only I do not 
understand why you said that you had not received 
it, Mr. Leigh.” 

44 Pardon me,” said Arthur : 44 1 did not say 4 1 have 
not received it ’ ; I answered 4 No ’ to your question, 
meaning that I did not receive it on the 9th, when, if 
it was written on the 8th, as you said, I should have 
received it. As a matter of fact, I have only just 
received it. But you — how could you know that I 
had it?” 

44 1 did not know. I assumed the fact from the 
discovery that when I told you that Mr. Dix had 
written to you, you had not the curiosity to ask what 
he had written to you about. So I thought : 4 He does 
not ask, because he knows.’ On the whole, I think 
that a certain measure of frankness would be best 
between us, Mr. Leigh: I, you must have observed, 
am all frankness — open as the day! ” 

44 It is easy for you to be frank,” Arthur replied 
in a low tone, with his eyelids lowered. 44 1, on the 
other hand, seem to be rather on my trial. My feet 
are entangled in a singular kind of net. By merely 
taking a walk down to the river I have been whirled 
through experiences which have left me in a state of 
indecision and broken nerve that I hardly recognize 
104 


Dark Footsteps 

as my own. I have done no wrong, yet I am practi- 
cally accused of some crime.” 

Inspector Furneaux answered nothing, but made 
two pencil dots against a query in his notebook. 
There was silence while he read Mr. Dix’s letter. 

“ You tell me you have only just received this note 
written four days ago? ” he broke out suddenly. 

“ I received it not five minutes before you came in. 
You see the postmark for yourself.” 

“ Yes, I — met the postman. And I can see the 
postmark. The letter was posted late last night — in 
Bayswater, London, though it was written in Oxford 
on the 8th. So we have the fact that a letter written 
in Oxford on the 8th, making an appointment with 
you on the 9th, is not posted to you until midnight 
on the 11th — from Bayswater. It was hardly posted, 
then, by the man who wrote it. We arrive at that 
conclusion simply. The handwriting on the envelope 
is quite different from the handwriting of the 
note.” 

“Ah? I hadn’t observed that,” said Arthur, 
craning to look again. 

“ Do you, by chance, know the handwriting on the 
envelope, Mr. Leigh? ” 

Arthur, gazing at it, bit his lip in sheer annoyance 
at the tricks fate was playing him. The handwrit- 
ing, he saw, was his own — or very like it ! He made 
no reply. The detective passed and repassed the 
crushed cigar two inches before his nostrils with an 
obstinate luxuriousness. 


105 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Perhaps you know the writing, Mr. Leigh? ” he 
said at last. 

44 It is like mine, I suppose,” said Arthur, throwing 
himself back into his chair with a desperate callous- 
ness — 44 like mine — a little disguised — the inference 
being that I duly received Mr. Dix’s note on the 
morning of the 9th, met him during the evening of 
the 9th, murdered him for some reason connected 
with the mortgage, then sent his note, addressed to 
myself in a slightly disguised hand, to a friend in 
London, asking him to post it to me last night, 
so that I might show that I had not received it 
until days after the murder. ... It is all quite 
clear ! ” 

He laughed a little, bending forward and covering 
his eyes with his hand. 

But Inspector Furneaux had started — started 
twice at that word 44 murder ” twice uttered — then 
thrust his face nearer, the glance of his green eyes 
seeming to read into Arthur’s very nature, one leg 
under his chair, one stretched far out, as though 
about to dart at something; and he almost shouted 
aloud : 

44 4 Murder,’ sir ! What causes you to dream that 
Mr. Dix is dead? ” 

At once Arthur saw that in his fit of recklessness 
he had said far too much. 

He 46 dreamed ” that Dix was dead, because there 
under the corner of the divan lay Dix’s shirt with a 
bullet hole in it. But then, as the shirt was in hid- 
106 


Dark Footsteps 

ing, his suspicion that Dix was dead should have been 
kept hidden, too. 

“Come, Mr. Leigh! Come, sir!” said Mr. Fur- 
neaux, with frank excitement in his manner: “ I await 
your answer: what causes you to imagine that Mr. 
Dix ? ” 

“ I am of the opinion that the man must be dead,” 
said Arthur stubbornly. 

“ I see. You have noticed the paragraph of his 
disappearance in the papers, and merely opine that 
he is dead — is that it ? ” 

“His disappearance? No,” said Arthur, too 
frankly, “ I haven’t seen the papers for some days — 
I — did not know that he had disappeared; but I — in 

fact ” He stopped, finding himself sinking 

deeper and deeper into the mire of the unexplainable. 

The detective put a pencil dot in his notebook, and 
for some time sat without saying anything, looking 
down at the carpet, frowning with a look of puzzle- 
ment perched on his wrinkled forehead. Then he 
suddenly stood up, grumbling almost sullenly : “ I 
won’t encroach further upon your time, Mr. Leigh. 
... It seems to me that it would be a great deal bet- 
ter for all concerned, if people would only be candid, 
and tell all that they know.” 

“ I am sorry if I seem reticent,” Arthur said, ris- 
ing also : “ but in such a predicament as mine it be- 
hooves one to be careful of what one says.” 

“ As you like. Good-day. . . . I forgot, though! 
I want to ask you whether you propose doing any- 
107 


By Force of Circumstances 

thing to prevent the foreclosure by the mortgagees — 
whether you have any plans so far? 55 
“ None, none. I am moneyless.” 

“ I see. We may say, then, that you have no 
scheme, have received no offer of help or co-operation 
from any person? ” 

“ Well, I have received one offer which I have not 
yet had time to consider, since it was only made to me 
just before you came in. I do not see, however, what 
that has to do with your present business.” 

“ No — nothing — only a remote connection,” said 
Mr. Furneaux brusquely, dismissing it as of no im- 
port. “ I only ask so as — to post myself in every 
detail. Still — on what conditions was the help 
offered, if I may ask? ” 

“ On condition of a lease of the estate.” 

“ By whom? The gentleman, you say, whom I 
saw with you ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ His name? ” 

“ Mr. Chauncey Bagot.” 

“ Thanks. And — do you think of accepting? ” 

“ I may. I have not considered it.” 

“ No ; I see. ... But now about the revolver 
dropped in the Parret. You have accurately de- 
scribed in your letter to Inspector Lawson the spot 
at which you think it fell from your hand, but you 
have not described the weapon itself.” 

u It was a Washington Central,” said Arthur, 
“ somewhat elaborately mounted on the handle with 
108 


Dark Footsteps 

silver discs, automatic double-action, silver fore- 
sight.” 

46 And the bullets ? ” 

44 They were marked Kynoch 320.” 

44 It was loaded, I think? ” 

44 In four of the six chambers.” 

44 Do you know why or when the two shots were 
fired?” 

44 1 fired them myself.” 

44 At ?” 

44 The tire of a motor-car.” 

44 Better tell me the circumstances, now ! ” 

44 I have explained to Inspector Lawson that for 
private reasons I desire to be silent as to all this part 
of the matter.” 

The detective took up his hat and stick. 

44 We will meet at the inquest,” he said. 44 Until 
then I won’t further trouble you, Mr. Leigh.” 
Arthur walked out behind the springy step and light- 
gray jacket that looked too long for the meager 
figure of the inspector. They were out on the balcony 
before anything else was said. Once there, Mr. Fur- 
neaux suddenly uttered an exclamation. 

44 Oh, my green-rolled cigar! I’ve forgotten it — 

excuse me .” And he was gone back inwards, with 

the deftness and rapid movement of a French waiter. 

Arthur made a step to follow, but was too proud to 
seem to be watching, so he stood still with a foot on 
the threshold, waiting. He waited a minute, two; 
and then, seeing that Inspector Furneaux was long 
109 


By Force of Circumstances 

in recovering his green-rolled cigar, he, too, swift 
and soft, went back inwards. 

Furneaux, meanwhile, had whipped the Armenian 
cloth of the divan from off the shirt-box, and, since 
it was growing dark, had stooped closely over the 
blood-stain, over the bullet hole in the shirt, and the 
“ E. J. D. No. 8 ” ; and now the revolver was in his 
hand. He saw that it was a Washington Central, 
that the mountings were the same as the mountings 
of that described by Arthur, and alleged by him to 
have dropped into the Parret ; he saw that there, too, 
four of the chambers were loaded, two discharged. 
Then, with swift fingers, he drew out one of the car- 
tridges and saw on the brass end “ Kynoch 320.” 
His eyes were full of a bright light. And at that 
moment the steps of Arthur coming were near upon 
him. 

But as Arthur entered, Mr. Furneaux was stand- 
ing before a portrait of the late Mr. Rollaston Leigh, 
studying it, with one hand behind the rumpled end of 
his long jacket, the other holding the cigar before his 
nose. 

“ Perhaps you can tell me,” he said with the cocked 
head of the connoisseur, “ at what age your grand- 
father had this portrait painted? ” 

Arthur glanced at the divan, saw the cloth over the 
shirt-box as he had left it, and sighed with a feeling 
of relief as he again went out with the detective. 

As Mr. Furneaux walked away down the path, Jen- 
kins was sounding the gong for dinner. Arthur went 


110 


Dark Footsteps 

back quickly to the shirt-box, to have it locked away 
out of sight, a doubt now smiting his mind whether 
he had done well to follow Mr. Bagot’s counsel in 
smuggling it out of the inspector’s sight. But the 
thing was done now. Henceforth the secret of that 
shirt and that revolver was a burden that he must 
needs bear. By whom they had been sent him — with 
what precise object — was a mystery too deep even to 
tempt his mind towards its unraveling as yet. It 
only seemed sure that the sender must be an enemy, 
and his object to enmesh Arthur’s feet yet deeper in 
the net of suspicion. However that might be, there 
the things were, and an eagerness took possession of 
Arthur immediately to wash his hands, and clear his 
life clean of these tokens of death — an eagerness that 
was blind, feverish, touched with disgust. 

First, then, he locked them in a cupboard, and as 
he sat toying with his dinner, remarked that the night 
was chilly, and asked Jenkins to light a fire in the 
library. 

And, now, looking at Jenkins, a new disquietude 
took hold of him, as to whether Jenkins had raised 
the lid of the shirt-box when he was sent to cut the 
string, whether Jenkins had not seen. . . . Jenkins, 
indeed, was so correct a servant, that this seemed un- 
likely ; but why was the man pale ? What caused his 
air of agitation, and shaky hands? Would he won- 
der at the demand for a fire on a June night? 

44 What is the matter with you ? ” Arthur asked at 
last, his eyes on his plate. 

Ill 


By Force of Circumstances 

“Sir?” murmured Jenkins, all deference in atti- 
tude, dry-washing his hands together. 

44 I was wondering if anything is wrong with you. 
You look ” 

44 A little unwell, a trifle upset, sir. I should sajr, 
sir, it was hardly my fault, that intrusion of Inspec- 
tor Furneaux into the library just now before he was 
asked. I think, I am almost sure, that I made my 
meaning clear to him, but he ” 

44 Well, of what importance is it? It is of no 
consequence whatever.” 

Nothing more was said, though several times Jen- 
kins looked as if he had somewhat on his tongue’s tip 
to bring out. As a matter of fact, he thought Fur- 
neaux’s behavior was highly suspicious. 

After dinner Arthur went back into the library, 
shut the two doors upon himself, and over the fire sat 
hearkening to gusts of wind soughing round the 
eaves, for it was a night of storm, dark also, with 
rain pattering on the window-panes very distinctly 
in the soundless house. 

Ever and anon he threw fresh logs into the grate, 
till there was a red glow of embers, and the place 
grew unbearably hot. He glanced at the cupboard 
in which he had locked the things ; and, after a long 
time rose and took the box with the shirt, put it upon 
the fire, and watched it burn. Then, after another 
hour’s interval, he went, wrapped in an ulster, out of 
the house by way of the balcony. He hurried along 
the path until he reached the dripping rose-garden. 

112 


Dark Footsteps 

Springing up into the ivy on the wall, he shoved the 
revolver deep into the mouth of the gargoyle by 
the Abbot’s Port, never having noticed that one 
of the four cartridges was gone out of it. 

The place seemed haunted to him all that night. 
After thus disposing of the revolver he returned to the 
library, hot as it was, to brood anew over the grate. 
He listened to the wailing of the gale with rather a 
sinking heart. He was in that mood when solitude 
is an ache, and the shriek of the wainscot mouse 
brings the heart bounding into the mouth. The 
soldierly feeling was dead in him for the hour. 
He was almost timid. At one moment, in a lull of 
the rain and wind, he fancied that he heard footsteps 
somewhere, three footsteps, and a creak that sounded 
loud as a gunshot. 

It could hardly be Jenkins, he thought: Jenkins 
had bidden him good-night and gone to bed four 
hours before. It might be some effect of the 
wind. . . . But for long afterwards he found himself 
hearkening from time to time to hear it anew. At 
last, he put out the lamp, and with his candlestick 
went up with soundless slippers that were still damp 
from his expedition out of the house, though on his 
return to the fire he had scorched them in trying to 
dry them rapidly. 

He was soon in bed; but not to sleep, for shower 
and squall were causing quite a commotion outside. 
With his two hands under his head he lay eying a 
square of the oak-paneling, where a patch lighter, 
113 


By Force of Circumstances 

or less dark, than the rest of the darkness caught and 
held the tail of his eye, inspiring him with a half sort 
of apprehension that the spot might prove alive, and 
move. Five minutes after he had lain down he heard 
the clock on his mantelpiece strike three; then for 
five minutes more he lay watching that square in the 
paneling with an ear for the little rattlings of his 
windows ; and now all at once his heart went cold, 
hearing, for the second time that night, a sound like 
footsteps. 

Two footsteps this time, but distinctly clearer than 
the three which he had seemed to distinguish below. 
But they were quite near — behind his head they ap- 
peared to be, and like a dolphin he twisted, peering, 
on his knees, into the dark behind the head of the bed. 
Yet, even as he peered, he accused himself of some 
mistake, for no less clearly than he had seemed to 
hear footsteps was he conscious that they were 
footsteps going down a stair. And he knew 
that there was no stair anywhere near in that 
direction. 

After peering, tensely, on his knees a minute, he 
was about to lie down again, when again he was quite 
sure of a series of sounds in the same place, and this 
time there could be no mistake. 

A series of four sounds! It seemed to him that 
just there behind the bed a coin, or a ring, had been 
dropped, had rolled, and had dropped down four suc- 
cessive steps deliberately — four wooden steps without 
any carpet. Yet he could swear that there were no 


114 


Dark Footsteps 

steps there, and a chill invaded his frame. But the 
sense of real danger nerved him. 

If there was a ghost about, there was none the less 
a scout about. Leigh, rousing himself to it, was in 
a moment out of bed with soundless tread, and away 
on the hunt. It now struck him that about an hour 
before this he had been conscious of a singular howl- 
ing and barking among the hounds in the “ Place of 
Sojourn ” not far from the library in which he had 
been brooding. At the time he had paid no heed to 
the racket. Nevertheless it might have signified the 
presence of some thief on the place. As to the coin 
rolling down four steps, he told himself that, though 
he was sure the huge old bedroom behind the head of 
his bed had no steps in it, yet he might possibly have 
forgotten some alcove, some recess behind the arras, 
that had steps. Out of his door, therefore, he 
hastened, keen but soft, all ear, all intentness, into a 
corridor to the left, down it a little way, and again 
to the left into another corridor, and so to a door of 
the long-disused old room whence the sounds might 
have come. 

The door was slightly open, and there he stood a 
while listening, not fearing that he might be seen, for 
it was dark there in daylight, and this was the darkest 
hour of a dark night. But there was now no 
sound: so now, since he had the scout’s habit of 
going on all-fours and of covering a good deal of 
ground in that position, in the least possible time, he 
lay down to go within. In he went, on agile hands 
115 


By Force of Circumstances 

and knees, investigating each nook of the chamber. 
But no one was there; and no movement was audible. 

This afresh had the effect of fermenting in him 
those fantastic feelings of fear with which mystery in 
darkness always infected the nerves, producing a tin- 
gling at the roots of the hair. He had now again 
reached the door by which he had gone in, and there 
on his hands and knees he remained some few minutes, 
gazing into the gloom, seeing again in imagination 
the garish flesh of the dead man as he had beheld it in 
the dark on the barge’s fo’castle-deck, with a thought 
in him that just there in front his grandfather’s 
ghost might dare to pass in gray or white before his 
sight ! 

And when, in truth, he suddenly heard some words 
uttered somewhere — some murmur which the air of 
the night just conveyed to his brain — for his ears 
, were keen to an even extreme degree — his fear grew 
great, but not greater than the transport of anger 
which now thrilled him throughout, making a man, or 
something more than a man, of him, as he sprang to 
his feet, stood an instant with ready hands, and then 
again ran to grapple with what was stirring. 

He was not certain of it, but his impression was 
that the murmur that he had heard proceeded from 
directly above his head! — from a spot not so far 
away as the floor above ; from a spot where, so far as 
he recollected, was only empty space! However, he 
was now in a mood to wrestle with demons. No awe 
which the darkness held hidden could thenceforth 
116 


Dark Footsteps 

have any influence in checking his masterful inquisi- 
tion. He would have confronted that which may 
make a man to gibber and drivel ! 

He ran back the way he had come with equal fleet- 
ness, equal softness, then up the main stair, and some 
distance into the room which, as near as he could 
judge, was over the spot where he had heard the mur- 
mur of words above him. It was a circular room 
with a groined roof, encircled by big compound 
columns, and having a floor of stone which struck 
cold to his feet as he stood listening, tense, but 
baffled and at a loss, like a man striving with 
gods, a being of five paltry senses pitting himself 
against the all-seeing gaze of beings of a thousand 
powers. 

Down the length of the room, which was once used 
as a workshop, ran an old table of boards, and there 
were old benches round about, old broken boards here 
or there; and among these there was a movement, a 
shaking, perhaps due only to the wind penetrating 
through a broken oriel, which heightened his chilly 
excitement. 

And, on a sudden, as he stood there, peering 
beneath his troubled brows round and up and down, 
again — distinctly — he heard a murmur as of words, 
this time directly beneath his feet, as it seemed, and 
the murmur was associated with a sound of footfalls 
going down a stair. . . . 

Leigh felt his teeth-edges chatter together and his 
flesh took on a new chill, for he was confident that 
117 


By Force of Circumstances 

there were no stairs just there. He stood, not know- 
ing what next to do, a prey to a thousand appre- 
hensions, expecting every moment that some ghostly 
power might strike him to the ground. Ten seconds 
later, however, he was aware of another sound of 
footsteps, not directly beneath him, but some feet, or 
yards, farther to the east. Softly, bending double, 
listening, he stepped that way. In doing so he struck 
the crown of his head against a column near the wall. 
The shock enraged him. His advance thus stopped, 
out he ran with stealthy tread into the neighboring 
chamber, bent down, listening, and once again heard 
two steps beneath him, making, it seemed, still east- 
ward. But now, being at the east wall of the house, 
he could no farther pursue the sounds. 

So out of that room, too, he ran, along a corridor 
and down the stairs, till he reached a door the bolts of 
which yielded readily, with slight noise, and out into 
the night he plunged. 

The wind was loud, but the rain had become a 
drizzle, and the crescent of the moon, late risen, was 
moving in apparent struggle with some pitch-black 
clouds which she threw her glare on. 

Arthur ran a little northward of the line in which, 
as he judged, the footfalls had passed eastward, and, 
almost lying in the soaked grass, he listened there 
several minutes, doubting afresh that he had ever 
heard what he had heard, not without a sense of gro- 
tesqueness at finding himself skulking there, soaked 
to the skin, with his ear close to the solid ground 
118 


Dark Footsteps 

to hear the footsteps of ghosts going about be- 
neath it ! 

From beneath came up no sound, but now suddenly 
there came to him a renewed barking and howling of 
the dogs in the “ Place of Sojourn ” from far away 
at the west of the house; and in a moment he was 
running southward and westward. . . . 

There was an alley of laurels opening upon the 
path downward from the house. Here, if he took his 
stand in it, he could not fail to see any being leaving 
the place who did not leave it through the air. He 
sprang in among the wet bushes, which shrouded him 
as with a garment, and peered out upon the path not 
ten yards away. Then he became aware of two 
shapes passing downward along it. The view of 
those two beings froze the current of his blood, for he 
was given one good glimpse of their raiment in the 
struggling glare of the moon. One of them ap- 
peared to be his grandfather — a small man with a 
bushy gray beard, a gray top-hat, a gray coat of un- 
common cut — his grandfather as Arthur remembered 
him — the other was a female, a girl ghostly in white, 
with a white wrap wound round her head voluminously, 
whose figure, for he could not see her face, some- 
how brought into his brain a thought both of Eli- 
nor Hinton and of the “ Belle Damosel 99 of the 
legend. 

And they two, as they flitted past his vision, went, 
apparently, hand in hand. . . . 

Arthur’s arm held on to a branch to support his 
H9 


By Force of Circumstances 

weakened knees while through his mind passed the 
wild thought : 

“ Either my grandfather and the 6 Belle Damosel,’ 
or Inspector Furneaux and Elinor Hinton.” The 
next instant he was himself again, straining, almost 
flying after them. . . . 


120 


CHAPTER VII 


THE LEASE OF THE ABBEY 

As he ran out of the alley of laurels, with every 
muscle tense, and his fingers itching to tackle the 
ghostly pair that had passed down the path, he was 
encountered by a solid enough mass of humanity 
running in the opposite direction, who seized him with 
the cry: 

44 Hello, what’s all this?” 

Arthur, just aware that the man holding him was 
Inspector Lawson of Bridgewater, roared in a frenzy: 

44 Let me go ! They are gone — that way ” 

44 I arrest you,” said Lawson, 44 for being unlaw- 
fully on these grounds ” 

44 Oh, don’t be an idiot,” gasped Arthur, strug- 
gling fiercely to be free, 44 can’t you see — they are 
gone down there — let me go , can’t you? Can’t you 

see — I am Leigh ” 

The officer maintained his hold. 

44 Who are you? ” he asked with a maddening calm. 
44 Haven’t I told you ? ” gasped Arthur. 44 1 am 
Mr. Leigh of the Abbey ! ” 

44 Come this way, let’s have a look at your face.” 
But now the younger and more athletic man had 
121 


By Force of Circumstances 

wriggled himself free, and was gone. Too late, how- 
ever: for he ran right down to the bottom of the 
garden and up to the bolted and barred Abbot’s Port 
without seeing any sign of the two shapes that had 
passed an instant before his sight. They had seem- 
ingly vanished into thin air. 

He was running back to search further in the shrub- 
beries when he met Lawson going down at a sharp 
walk under an arch of foliage, where it was dark; and 
Lawson, peering anew at the nude feet and the wet 
pyjamas that stuck to the shape, innocently asked: 
44 Are you really Mr. Leigh ? ” 

44 Yes, yes,” answered Arthur testily. 44 Haven’t 
you seen two people in gray and white going down 
the path here? ” 

44 Not down the path, sir,” said Lawson, 44 nobody 
has passed down here.” 

44 Oh, rot ! Why, I saw them, man. If you hadn’t 
held me, I should have laid hands on them, even 
though they withered me at the touch.” 

44 Perhaps you are a little excited, Mr. Leigh. I’m 
sure I haven’t seen ” 

44 Well, perhaps I am a little excited. . . . Why 
on earth did you hold me just at the wrong moment ? ” 

44 1 took you for a trespasser or a thief.” 

44 But what are you doing here, anyway? ” 

44 1 am on my way to Alvington on some business, 
and in passing down below ten minutes since I saw a 
suspicious-looking man bolt up this way, so I fol- 
lowed and searched the grounds, and arrested you in- 
122 


The Lease of the Abbey 

stead of him. You are abroad late, or rather early, 
sir.” 

Arthur told him that he had thought he heard foot- 
steps in the house, had followed, and seen two shapes, 
a male and a female. They parted, Arthur to go 
seeking through the shrubberies for yet fifteen 
minutes, with a curious fleeting feeling in him mean- 
time that Inspector Lawson’s story of “ the suspi- 
cious-looking man ” was an invention, and that the 
officer had purposely stopped him from pursuing the 
two phantoms. This, however, only occurred to him 
to be dismissed as an incredible thing. 

At last, when he could find no trace of anyone, he 
returned to the house and to bed: and now, on a 
sudden, found the night done, and his chamber 
flooded with daylight, which made all that he had 
passed through during the night appear nothing 
more than a dream. 

But, from breakfast to lunch, he spent the hours 
in ferreting about the house, especially about the 
room upstairs and the one directly under it, beneath 
which he had seemed to hear a murmur of words and 
footsteps going downstairs: but he could find noth- 
ing anywhere to explain the phenomena. 

He was lying on his face on the floor of the circular 
room with the groined roof, tapping here or there 
with his knuckles on the stone-work, when Jenkins of 
the noiseless tread came upon him bearing a tele- 
gram — from Mr. Hinton. Arthur was asked if he 
could dine on the yacht that night. 

123 


By Force of Circumstances 

He was certainly in no mood for society dinners, 
but this dinner had attractions, and after considering 
it some moments he wrote his consent. 

At seven o’clock he was bowing before Elinor Hin- 
ton on the deck of the Mishe Nahma — a long three- 
master of five hundred tons, twin-screwed, luxurious 
from bowsprit to poop. Arthur, for lack of better 
expression, called her 46 a duck,” thought aloud that 
44 it would be an education for a landsman like him 
to go over her,” and Miss Elinor Gage Hinton an- 
swered: 44 Well, you shall.” 

But that was much later, about midnight, when the 
rim of the moon was rising above the horizon inland 
and had begun to illumine the smooth water in bands 
and pools of beauty. Bagot, seated in a group on 
the after-deck, was enchanting them with scraps of 
tunes, glad madrigals, or weary griefs, from his 
violin. 

It had been a night of music. Two Bridgewater 
girls, the Vicar’s daughters, had rendered the duet 
overture of Prometheus; there had been quadrilles, 
barn-dances, in the saloon — for half-a-dozen of the 
Bridgewater elite we re at the party — Elinor had done 
two coon songs and the tarantella, and Mr. Bagot, 
with closed eyes, had made his Bergonzi violin dis- 
course till its wailing became almost a part of the 
lovely night. 

Then when the moon rose late, there was strolling 
in twos and threes over the white expanse of the deck, 
the new beauty of the night inducing a new mood of 
124 


The Lease of the Abbey 

silence or musing in the party, or of talk in lower 
tones. 

Near the bows Arthur and Elinor found themselves 
bent over the bulwarks alone, looking out seaward, 
she nothing of the yachtswoman now, but a land- 
fairy of Mayfair on the ocean, a wisp of white with 
wistaria at her waist. She looked still slimmer, more 
lissom to him than he had seen her, with a waist as 
elusive as that moonbeam that peeped across the rails 
at her, and clambered over her to luxuriate and faint 
in the spirit of perfume that pervaded her being. 

“ Now tell me,” she said, the moment she found her- 
self alone with him, and suddenly her face changed 
from gay to very grave: “what did he want of 
you?” 

“Mr. Bagot?” asked Arthur, startled. 

“ Oh, sh-h-h-h,” she whispered, almost in distress. 

“Yesterday, you mean?” he asked, dropping his 
voice to the deeply secret level of hers. “ Nothing, I 
think, that will interest you.” 

He did not share in her unexplained attitude of 
distrust towards Bagot, nor did he see that it was 
quite fair to publish the man’s more or less privileged 
talk in his house. 

“ Much, I am sure, that will interest me,” she said. 

“ I think not,” he answered lightly, smiling. 

“ Ah, he doesn’t see. . . ! ” she said to herself with 
a gesture of vexation. “ Mr. Leigh,” she added 
earnestly, “ do you imagine that I am a person who 
would seek to pry into your affairs without adequate 
125 


By Force of Circumstances 

reason? If } r ou will only take me on trust for the 
present you may find that I am neither a busybody 
nor a crank. And if I assure you now that I know a 
great deal more, I won’t say of Mr. Bagot’s, but of 

your own affairs, than you know yourself ” 

44 How delightful ! But how odd ! ” 

44 Without any seeking of mine, this knowledge has 
been thrust upon me. Some day — possibly — you may 
know how and why. I would tell you now, if I could, 
but, as I can’t, do trust me. Answer me. Believe 

that I mean well, though quite a stranger ” 

It was no longer possible to doubt her seriousness. 
The beam of moonlight that from behind illumined 
the outline in profile of her face under her shadowy 
head-wrap, showed her pale with intensity, and he 
saw the diamond lusters on her left hand by him 
tremble steadily on the taffrail. 

44 1 fear you have misinterpreted my reply,” he said 
to her. 44 Surely you know instinctively that I trust 
you, believe that you mean well, and will answer what- 
ever you like to ask.” 

44 Thank you,” she said, turning and lowering her 
face. For a while she was silent, seeming now to be 
staring down into the water which with a little wel- 
tering plash swirled about the ship’s bows. Then 
suddenly she spoke again. 

44 Ah,” she said, 44 it is for life that I am fighting — 
I tell you so — I can’t help what you may think of 
these unasked confidences, for when it is a question of 
life, one is not over-squeamish and diffident. One 
126 


The Lease of the Abbey 

goes straight to one’s end, and fights barefaced, with 
convention and chivalry flung to the winds. And it 
will be a good fight, too, a fierce fight, to the death, 
and no quarter ! Mr. Leigh, forgive me ! I am only 
a girl, and there is arrayed against me the power of 
a great intellect — astute, profound, ruthless, whose 
aim is my undoing. It is hard — it is hard. But I’ll 
struggle to the end ! And now I have an auxiliary, 
too — suddenly sent me — by God’s goodness — one 
who, it seems, has an intellect, too, and may prove a 
trustworthy ally — wait ! we shall see ! ” 

She laughed a little with a curious grimness. 
Leigh, wholly at a loss to follow her, wondered what 
was distracting her thoughts. 

“ Oh, I am sorry that you are troubled about some- 
thing ! ” he said softly. “ I only regret that I am 
completely in the dark. I cannot enter into your 
feelings unless you explain.” 

“ But you are a part of it, too ! ” she murmured. 
“ Very strangely it has happened so, as you may see 
before long. For it is a question of — Mr. Bagot, 
and — Mr. Bagot is as much mixed up with you now 
as with me, it seems.” 

Each time that she uttered the word “ Bagot ” her 
voice dropped to the merest whisper and a shudder 
seemed to overpower her. 

Arthur, for his part, did not know what to say for 
the best. He stood leaning on one elbow, turned to- 
ward her, his gaze dwelling on the rounded lines of 
her figure as she stooped over the taffrail, his breast 
127 


By Force of Circumstances 

feeling a fearful sweetness in being thus privileged to 
be present at the private view of her passion. 

64 Mr. Leigh,” she said suddenly, 44 you know that 
I do not passionately love Mr. Bagot P ” 

44 1 seem to have gathered that much,” Arthur an- 
swered quickly, hoping that she would revert to 
lighter and saner words. 

44 1 am going to marry him, though.” 

44 No ! ” 

44 Sh-h-h.” 

44 But that never, never can be ! ” 

44 It can . Since I last saw you at the Abbey it 
seems to have been practically decided upon. . . . 
But oh, won’t there be a fight for it, Mr. Leigh ! ” 

Her lips parted, showing her sharp little teeth- 
edges. She was terribly in earnest. 

44 Decided on ? By whom ? ” he asked. 

44 By Mr. Bagot, by my father, and to some extent, 
by myself. I have promised to think seriously of 
this matter, to let my decision be known within a short 
time, and no doubt that decision will be 4 yes ’ — un- 
less — by that time — I am married, or at least about 
to be married, bound down fast somehow — to someone 
else. I — speak plainly.” 

All at once Arthur’s heart bounded into his mouth, 
so that for some moments he stood straight and dumb, 
watching her as she looked down into the sea, and 
somehow there came into his head now phrase after 
phrase of Mowle and Mowle’s letter making him a 
moneyless man. At last he shook his head. 

128 


The Lease of the Abbey 

“ But I fail — I fail to understand anything 
of it,” he said, and his voice had the sound of a 
groan. 

“ It is a question,” said Elinor, without looking at 
him, “ of — my father. I do not quite know of what 
nature is the power which Mr. Bagot has over my 
father, but I may tell you that it is very strong. 
Mr. Bagot, I have told you, can be persuasive beyond 
all other men, but by no mere powers of persuasion 
could any human being ever gain the influence over 
any other which he has over my father. What is the 
origin of it? I don’t know. I have imagined that 
he possesses secret of facts which, if divulged, may 
seriously injure my father. It may be so. Or it 
may be that — anyway, I have always been weak as 
to my father — there has been a c scene ’ between us — 
he has had tears in his eyes — he was on his knees — I 
have nearly yielded ” 

A sob interfered with her further utterance. Her 
glorious head was now very low down. 

A cry of utter compassion came from Arthur’s 
lips. 

“ Don’t— ” he began to say, laying for one mo- 

ment his hand on hers, but he could find no other 
words for his sympathy. Her voice reached him 
again, subdued but very clear. 

“ Two things only can rescue me from the consent 
which I foresee that I am about to give. If, before 
I consent, I can prove Mr. Bagot to be what I believe 
him to be, that would be one. Or if I can say to my 
129 


By Force of Circumstances 

father, C I am married I ’ 6 1 am bound!’ 6 1 am 

engaged ! ’ that would be another.” 

She spoke those words in a murmur almost too low 
to be heard, so that Arthur, bending quite close, could 
only just catch them as they failed and fainted on 
her lips : and again he had the impression that, driven 
to bay, throttled by her enemy, all desperate, this 
girl whom he now met for the third time was — mak- 
ing him an offer of marriage ! And how he loved her 
now! With what pity! With what friendship for 
her confidence and frank friendship for him, as 
though she said to him in words too mystic to be ut- 
tered by any tongue : “ From of old ages my heart 
knew and loved your heart, and this our third meet- 
ing is our thousand thousandth.” 

It was on his tongue’s tip to say : 64 My love, my 
love ! ” But, very sharply he remembered that he 
was poor, and she rich; remembered, too, that he 
seemed to be under suspicion with respect to the 
strange crime at Bridgewater, but chiefly remembered, 
sharply as by the pull of a bridle, that he was poor 
and she rich. At the idea of mending his fortunes 
by a wife’s wealth something within him hissed: and 
standing by her side with tightly clenched hands, 
torn between desire and shrinking, feeling that she 
was awaiting a word from him which he could never 
utter, a lump rose in his throat, a moisture stung his 
eyes, and anguish like a pang of torture rankled 
in his heart. At last in a broken tone he brought 
out the unfortunate words: “Miss Hinton, your 
130 


The Lease of the Abbey 

trouble — touches me. Ah! if I was but a free 
man. . . .” 

One second’s space : and now she turned upon him a 
face of wonder, a face all eyes that stared at him, a 
wonder which, second by second, changed to rage, a 
paleness which each instant grew to crimson. 

“ 6 A free man’?” she said. “ What do you 
mean? ” 

He made no answer, marveling at that sudden 
spitfire change in her. It did not occur to him that 
“ not a free man ” might mean to her, “ I am a man 
already engaged or married, but for which fact I 
should be inclined to take pity on your misery and 
accept your outre offer of marriage ” — in which case 
her natural impulse would be to cover her retreat with 
indignation partly real enough, partly bogus, with a 
pretense, wrung from her anger, that he had mis- 
understood her wholly. 

66 Tell me, Mr. Leigh,” she repeated vehemently, 
“ what has your f reedom or slavery to do with the 
matter under discussion? ” 

Her air of surprise, of imperial disdain and pique, 
appeared to him so real that he, hardly possessing 
much ability in deciphering the algebras of the femi- 
nine heart, at once thought within himself : “ I am 
an idiot, she meant something else ; ” and he said 
vaguely aloud : “ I meant merely to express my 
sincere sympathy with you in your distress, Miss 
Hinton.” 

She, for her part, was not satisfied with this, but 
131 


By Force of Circumstances 

continued still to gaze at him with scorn, as if com- 
manding him with her eyes to go on his knees before 
her and beg pardon for some unpardonable presump- 
tion. Her scorn was not wholly feigned, but mostly 
real — being compounded of anger and horror at her- 
self, and suddenly she was bending over the ship’s 
rail once more, her hand over her burning brow, and 
a low cry burst from her lips. 

But she stood straight with a laugh, due perhaps 
to hearing near her the footsteps of a couple coming 
round the pilot-house from the starboard to the port 
side, and nothing more was said until these had gone 
and a dinghy had fluttered past with a plash of oars, 
going to the shore from one of the ships whose anchor 
lights kept their vigil of silence through the moon’s 
reign. 

From the poop came, as if from far away, some 
strains of music, which Arthur and Elinor thought 
were strains of Bagot’s fiddle. But it was a lady 
whom Bagot had set to play in his stead, and he him- 
self, step by step, from point to point, was moving 
for’ard, looking at the moon. 

44 If I knew anything that I could do for you ” 

Arthur began to say with uneasy compunction. 

44 You can answer my questions at least,” said 
Elinor dryly. 

44 As to what Mr. Bagot 4 wanted ’ of me? ” he 
asked. 44 Well, I cannot be sure that that was the 
original object of his visit, but he offered to take the 
Abbey from me on a lease.” 

¥ 


132 


The Lease of the Abbey 

She did not answer. Minute after minute elapsed, 
so that he seemed to have struck her dumb, or plunged 
her in the deepest thought. 

“Well?” said he at last; to which she answered 
quite quietly, as though she had the fullest right to 
dispose of his actions : 

44 You won’t, of course? ” 

He stood amazed. 

44 I may,” said he ; 64 1 am inclined to.” 

44 Ah, Mr. Leigh, you do not understand.” 

44 I don’t. And you do not either, I think. The 
fact is, that circumstances connected with the mort- 
gage of the place almost compel me to accept.” 

44 I happen to know all about the circumstances 
connected with the mortgage,” she said, tapping im- 
patiently with her fan on the rail. 

44 It is amazing, if you do,” he answered. 46 May 
I ask — how? ” 

44 I have been told ; by whom I must not say.” 

44 What an amazing interest people must take in a 
man who only returned to Somerset a few days ago! ” 

44 But since you see that I know things, perhaps 
much more than you know yourself, I assume that 
you will see fit to do what I tell you.” 

44 In most things, yes — gladly, believe me. But in 
a matter of business — unless, indeed, you can give me 
some reason ” 

44 Don’t do it, Mr. Leigh ! ” she cried with a sudden 
emphasis that was almost passion. 44 Don’t do it ! It 
is not for my own sake that I am speaking for the 
133 


By Force of Circumstances 

moment, but for yours. I happen to know that you 
need a large sum of money soon, and Mr. Bagot will 
give it to you, if you let him. But don’t let him ! 
If you will only wait, the money will probably be 
provided in another quite unexpected fashion — I know 
what I am saying. But let Bagot have no lease of 
your place. He has a motive. Stay, I am prohibited 
from telling you much, but since you are in the dark, 
I will give you one hint: you know already, don’t 
you ” 

She got no farther, for now, as if he had sprung 
up out of the deck, Bagot was there with them, pac- 
ing slowly, his big, placid face turned up to the moon, 
his hands behind his back, pacing like some beatified 
Abbot, with the 66 exceeding peace ” of Abou Ben 
Adhem in his demeanor; and he rolled up to them, 
saying : 64 That is Miss Phyllis who is rendering 
Rhodes’s air in G. She does it well. This reminds 
me of a night of music which I spent under the moon 
in the shadow of the Sphinx and the Pyramids two 
years ago, when a somewhat remarkable incident took 

place ” And he proceeded to give one of his queer 

anecdotes. 

By the time he ended the majority of the guests 
were ready to depart, and as Bagot did not leave 
Arthur’s side till he was gone, there was no further 
chance of talk between him and Elinor. 

Nor was Bagot the man to let any grass grow 
beneath his feet. Before noon the next day he was at 
the Abbey, engaged with Arthur in earnest talk on 
* 134 


The Lease of the Abbey 

the matter of the entanglement of the estate, the 
mortgage, and the lease. 

Now, Arthur had been impressed by the warning 
of Elinor, who had evidently been about to tell him 
something which might have proved convincing, and, 
driving home under the moon, he had thought to him- 
self : 46 She must have some meaning which I cannot 
at present fathom.” 

But when he woke in the broad light of day, it 
seemed to him that nothing could have been more 
outre and fantastic than that interview by the taff- 
rail under the moon. Elinor had now to his fantasy 
the glamor of some elf who has fed on honey-dew and 
drunk the milk of paradise. Bagot, on the contrary, 
talked business — the business of the City man — and 
the longer the interview lasted the more was Arthur 
disposed to fall in with the details of the financial 
scheme which his counselor skillfully sketched. 

However, he had not yet expressed his consent to 
the scheme when he had proof that someone else was 
alert, and working, and meant fight. In the midst 
of all the talk about the mortgage and the lease, Jen- 
kins bore in a telegram — from Elinor: 

44 Miss Hinton urgently prays Mr. Leigh to give no 
promise before hearing from her. She prays him for 
her sake now as well as his own. A letter follows.” 

And Arthur, as he folded up the paper, said to 
himself : 44 So be it. Let whatever is your will be my 
law always.” 

Did Mr. Bagot know with certainty from whom 
135 


By Force of Circumstances 

that telegram came? Did he read anything in 
Arthur’s face? Certain it was that, as Arthur 
folded up the paper, the other glanced at his watch, 
one momentary ray of angry malignancy beaming 
out from beneath his rough brows. It vanished 
instantly. 

“ By Jove, Leigh,” he cried, 46 1 have overrun my 
time. It is now 12.30, and I have a rendezvous in 
Bridgewater at 12.25. I am sorry I can’t pursue the 
subject further, but I tell you what, I will turn up 
again this evening at seven, share potluck with you, 
and come then to a more definite understanding.” 

Arthur acquiesced in this, and, Bagot being gone, 
awaited from hour to hour Elinor Hinton’s promised 
letter. He thought that she would send it by mes- 
senger, but then, from three o’clock, found himself 
looking out for the post. He was now decided, indeed, 
whether her letter arrived before Mr. Bagot or not, 
blindly to obey her, to say 44 no ” to Mr. Bagot 44 for 
her sake ” ; so that his eagerness for the post was 
merely an eagerness to see her handwriting, and be 
somehow in communication and touch with her. But 
the afternoon passed into evening, and Mr. Bagot’s 
lank hair, and curate’s hat, and roll of chains, and 
bland visage reappeared ; but there was no letter. 

That there must be some specific cause for this 
Arthur was convinced. No neglect or dilatoriness 
on her part, he was sure, would prevent her from ful- 
filling her promise. It occurred to him that the let- 
ter might have been sent by a messenger, and the 
136 


The Tease of the Abbey 

messenger might, in some way, have been tampered 

with. . . . 

Never did Bagot make himself so agreeable a com- 
panion as that evening. He refused at dinner to 
“ discuss business,” and after much light talk in 
which he brilliantly poured forth his store of world- 
wide experience, he entered into a disquisition on the 
authorship of the Book of Revelation, a disquisition 
in which his keenness of penetration, the clearness and 
balance of his judgment, and the hoard of his learn- 
ing, charmed and astonished Arthur. 

When they rose from table, Arthur thought to 
himself : 46 Now for the lease business, and I have to 
be firm with this fascinating person.” 

But no; still Mr. Bagot had no wish to descend to 
the trivial things of life. Saying that the evening 
was too delicious for sitting indoors, he invited 
Arthur to go for a drive with him about the country 
in the phaeton which had brought him from Bridge- 
water. 

“ During the drive,” he explained, “ we can talk 
over the business we both have in our minds.” 

“ With pleasure,” agreed Arthur, and Bagot 
clandestinely glanced at his watch. 

They went into the hall together, got into the 
phaeton, and drove off, Mr. Bagot giving the driver 
the direction of the drive; but even now the flow of 
his conversation would not admit of the discussion of 
leases. Passing within sight of the Parret, his talk 
turned upon tidal rivers, upon lock-gates, canals, 
137 


By Force of Circumstances 

upon the damming of the Nile, irrigation, and the 
delta of the Ganges. Then, noticing a farmyard 
where in the balmy twilight cows were being milked, 
he confessed to a childish passion for milk fresh 
drawn from the cow. Alighting, they went in and 
drank. 

When this was finished, Bagot again glanced at his 
watch, and on the way back to the carriage proposed 
that they should no longer drive, but should stretch 
their legs a little. Again Arthur agreed. He would 
have fallen in with any mood of this masterful man. 
Bidding the coachman await them there by the farm, 
they went strolling down a lane, down a succession of 
lanes, the talk now being of Arthur’s grandfather, of 
the old man’s belief in the transmigration of souls, 
a propos of which Bagot gave to Arthur a synopsis 
of the whole complexity of the Brahmin system of 
theosophy, the nebulous reasons underlying the be- 
lief, and admitted that he was himself something of a 
Brahmin. 

Their walk had now brought them out of the lanes 
into a road on which not a soul was to be seen. 
Here, on a sudden, Bagot stopped short, and held up 
his hand like one listening. 

44 Now, tell me,” he murmured, 66 do you hear two 
people talking together somewhere in low voices.” 

Leigh humored his whim and strove to find its 
cause. 

44 No,” he said, after a few seconds’ quietude. 44 1 
can only hear the plash of a water-fall in the arti- 
138 


The Lease of the Abbey 

ficial lake that lies among the trees there. The place 
is called the Ponds Covert, and forms part of the 
Pinkerton estate. Look, you can see a turret of the 
mansion over yonder, peeping above the trees.” 

“ Well, I just wanted to test my hearing as com- 
pared with yours,” said Bagot. “ I am supposed to 
have an ear of quite phenomenal keenness, like a 
hare’s, and, of course, I hear the play of the cascade 
you speak of. But, besides that, I am distinctly, 
though vaguely, conscious of a sound of two voices in 
conversation somewhere. So that I, an old bookman, 
can beat you, a young fellow, fresh from the wilds, in 
the matter of our acoustic outfits.” 

“ Stay,” said Arthur, spurred to emulation, “ let 
me listen,” and a minute he stood bent, keen, nothing 
but an ear. Then he said: “No, you beat me — at 
least in fancifulness.” 

Bagot laughed quietly. He listened again, as if 
to catch the direction of the sound. “ You wait 
here,” he chuckled. “ I’ll go and spy.” 

He at once went down a path through a field to 
the left, holding back a restraining hand to Arthur, 
and Arthur could not but admire the absolute agility 
of stealth with which that man of bulk, fleetly but 
deftly, like one running the tight-rope, went speeding 
onward with hardly a sound. He saw Bagot reach 
an intersecting path and pass through a gate in the 
hedge bordering the covert, where there was a board 
printed with : “ This road is private ; trespassers will 
be prosecuted.” Then Bagot disappeared. 

139 


By Force of Circumstances 

Five minutes, and he came back, with one hand 
beckoping to Arthur to come, and a forefinger of the 
other held playfully before his lips in token of utter 
silence. Silently went Arthur to him. Bagot, tak- 
ing him by a sleeve, whispered into his ear : 44 1 haven’t 
seen myself, but I know exactly where — sh-h-h — 
come ” 

He drew Arthur within the gate, and like two 
thieves they went on down the grass-ride of the shoot- 
ing alley, Bagot ever leading, grasping his com- 
panion’s sleeve. It was dim in there under the mass 
of the leafage, and everywhere in the air was the song 
of falling water in the deepening night. They 
passed by the shore of a lake, where a boat lay before 
a rude summer-house, and next over a little bridge in 
a dark place where the pool of water moved smoothly 
to a drop forty feet deep, giving a gloomy music 
whose chant never ends. 

Just beyond this was a thickness of fir-trees and 
undergrowth, and going a few steps up a steep path 
through the wood, Bagot, who till now had led, stepped 
aside, and pushed Arthur to go onward. Leigh 
obeyed, went on a few steps, and now, before ever he 
had heard a sound of talking — for the noise of the 
waterfall was still in his ears — he saw through the 
leafage two persons, a man and a woman. 

Instantly he had an instinct to pull back his head, 
but as quickly too, his eyes were staring at them, 
nailed to that which they saw. In there behind the 
screen of trees, there was a rockery all bracken- 
140 


The Lease of the Abbey 

grown. On a rough bench sat the woman, gazing up 
with raised lashes into the face of the man, who was 
standing, and whose right hand rested on her shoul- 
der, she speaking gravely to him, it appeared; he 
listening, nodding. 

The twilight in there was very slight, one might 
almost have called it night, and the birds in their 
dormitories were now, after their day’s work, very 
feebly chirping themselves with drawn-down lids into 
sleep. 

But in a midnight without a moon Arthur would 
have known the woman. It was Elinor. The man’s 
face, too, was so vividly engraved upon his mind that 
he could not fail to recognize him. It was the motor- 
ist, the kidnapper from whom he had rescued Elinor ! 

He might have heard some of their words, if he had 
wished. But a wild revulsion of feeling came over 
him. He seemed to be still the butt of the midsummer 
madness of elves. With the same hunter’s stealth 
with which he had advanced, he stepped back, and 
with a face hard and stern, quite rigid in its hidden 
anguish, he walked back to Bagot’s side. 

They went in silence till they were beyond the 
covert. Then Bagot whispered: 

44 Was I right? Did you see? ” 

Arthur nodded. 

“ I was always remarkable for it,” Bagot said. 
44 My power of far-hearing is superhuman, or infra- 
human, if you like — hare-like. Were they a pair of 
lovers, then ? ” 


141 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Apparently,” said Arthur. 

“ Ah, I did not see them. But I knew quite well 
that they were there. . . . And now, Leigh, as we 
walk back we may profitably discuss the matter of the 
lease of the Abbey.” 

“ Oh, you can have the place, if you want it,” 
Arthur answered, with well-assumed indifference. “ I 
don’t give a d — n for life in this country.” 


142 


CHAPTER VIII 


MR. BAGOT’s HOUSE 

By the time the two night-prowlers had got back 
to the Abbey in Bagot’s phaeton, after seeing Elinor 
and her most unexpected companion together in the 
depths of the covert, all the preliminaries as to grant- 
ing the lease were settled, as far as nods of the head 
on the part of Arthur could settle anything. For 
Bagot talked, and Arthur sat by him agreeing me- 
chanically, only half hearing what was said, and 
callous to all business that is done under the sun. 

“ To spare the horses,” as Bagot put it, they 
walked up the hill together to the house, and now, as 
Arthur entered it, the letter that had been expected 
all day was handed him by Jenkins — from her. 
Arthur took it with a grim f ace and an angry light in 
his eyes. Begging Bagot to excuse him, he went 
into the library to read it — driven on by an eagerness 
of which he was ashamed, so anxious was he to see 
what words this girl could have to say to him. . . . 

“ Dear Mr. Leigh : 

“ I took the liberty to telegraph you this morning 
at 11.25 a. m., praying you to accept no offer as to a 
lease of your place until you should hear further 
143 


By Force of Circumstances 

from me, and I assume that after our conversation 
last night on the yacht, you have had sufficient confi- 
dence in my sanity to follow my advice. But, then, 
why have you not answered my letter which I sent 
you by special messenger at 12.15 to confirm my tele- 
gram? Have you not received it? It occurs to me 
now that the boy may have been stopped on the way, 
though that seems improbable — unless it was by some 
more than usually persuasive intriguer? — for he as- 
sures me that he duly delivered the letter at the Ab- 
bey. Fearing, however, that you have somehow not 
received it, I now write again to repeat what I said — 
that in case you have had sufficient strength of mind 
and confidence in me to resist the blandishments of 
unscrupulous persons, you will in the course of a day 
or two receive an offer from a businesslike friend of 
mine, in whom you may have every confidence, to lease 
the Abbey from you on such terms as will free you, 
for the present, from all apprehension of the property 
falling into a stranger’s hands. If I tell you that it 
is my good friend and yours, Mrs. George F. Bates, 
a lady of great wealth, who has been so kind and help- 
ful as to make this promise you will understand that 
the transaction will be in every respect preferable to 
one entered into with those whose motives you must 
suspect by this time to be not quite clear. Will you 
therefore do me the favor, as soon as you read this 
note, to write that you accept Mrs. Bates as an in- 
tervener. My messenger will await a line which will 
prove a great relief to me. 


144 


Mr. Bagofs House 

“ I may add that if, at the time you receive this, 
you have with you a visitor whose head is of much 
more than usual bigness, and if you think that by 
some ingenuity of yours you can get a measurement 
in inches of the size of his head, you may keep back 
my messenger a little, so as to get and send me the 
measurement ; and I will endure the delay, as that is 
important. 

“ Sincerely, 

“ Elinor Gage Hinton.” 

As he read the last word, Arthur’s face went sud- 
denly red. He laughed aloud, with a certain savage- 
ness, and, rushing in a fever of haste to the desk, he 
wrote with a glow of what was nothing more nor less 
than childish malice: 

“ Dear Miss Hinton : 

“I have received the second of your letters, but have 
already made arrangements as to the subject of it. 

“ Yours truly, 

“ Arthur Leigh.” 

With almost frantic hurry he started off to give it 
to the messenger, who had now been waiting an hour. 
He was keen to defeat, to cross, to humiliate and slap 
her in the face, for his heart was delirious with the 
disease of jealousy, of spite, of distrust and vindic- 
tiveness. Once only he halted a moment. He was 
pricked in his conscience at the thought of sending to 
a woman so short, so cruel a note. But he hardened 
145 


By Force of Circumstances 

himself again, glad to give her back a little of the 
agony which she had given to him in the depths of 
that covert ; and he handed the note to the messenger, 
who went off with it. 

Arthur remained at the door some minutes, looking 
down at the gravelly square of the courtyard. He 
was less happy now that the deed was done. As he 
turned to re-enter the house, an alert step caught his 
ear, and he saw the sprightly form of Inspector Fur- 
neaux coming to him out of the darkness, for it was 
now night, and the moon still far from her hour of 
rising. 

“ Mr. Leigh? ” said the detective. “ I want a few 
minutes’ talk with you.” 

“ This way, Inspector,” said Arthur. 

Mr. Furneaux lowered his voice. 

“ Have you any visitors in there? ” 

“ I have one.” 

“ Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll go round by the 
door on the other side, as I never like to disturb 
visitors by the sight of such a bird of ill-omen as I 
have to be sometimes, and I’ll meet you in your 
library.” 

“As you please,” said Arthur, and while the detect- 
ive went round, he, passing through the drawing- 
room, expressed to Bagot his regret at leaving him, 
promised to be back, and going on into the library 
found Furneaux already there, gazing up, with his 
hands behind him, at old Rollaston Leigh’s portrait. 

“ I don’t know if you have heard of recent develop- 
146 


Mr. Bagofs House 

merits, sir?” said the Scotland Yard man, spinning 
round as Arthur entered. 

“ No.” 

44 The clothes have been found ! ” 

Fumeaux’s gaze rested with a steady contempla- 
tion on Arthur’s face. He seemed to be awaiting 
his reply with a rapt attention. 

44 Clothes ? ” said Arthur. 66 Oh, I see — the dead 
man clothes ? ” 

44 You have hit it,” said Furneaux , — 46 the dead 
man’s clothes.” 

Arthur, wondering 44 Why do his eyes search my 
face like that? ” went all red for no reason that he 
could give words to. 

44 Take a chair,” he said, and handed one. 

But Furneaux sat down on his old perch on the 
divan, beneath whose covering he had seen the shirt- 
box and the revolver. He took from his pocket the 
crushed cigar of that first interview to smell at, and 
smiled pleasantly as if to palliate a harmless piece of 
folly. 

44 You do not ask, Mr. Leigh, whereabout the 
clothes have been found,” he went on. 

44 My good sir, I haven’t had time, and I’m not 
sure that I care very much,” said Arthur with a flush 
of anger. 

44 Quite so, sir. But guess where — come, I defy 
you to guess where ! ” 

44 You are quite right in defying me, for I have not 
the slightest idea.” 


147 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 In ” — and Furneaux dropped the cigar on the 
table, clapped his two palms upon his knees, and 
again favored Arthur with a disconcerting stare — 
44 in the middle of the Bristol Channel ! ” 

Then there was silence. 

44 Did you ever hear the like ? ” demanded the 
detective. 

44 It sounds unexpected,” said Arthur and his eye- 
lids fell in spite of himself, for honest men who feel 
themselves suspected will sometimes wear a look of 
guilt. 

44 Yes,” said Furneaux rapidly, 44 all the clothes of 
a man, except one sock, the boots, and one stud, which 
may have sunk, and — strange to say — the shirt. 
They were all hooked up close together by a fishing- 
boat two miles from the coast this afternoon, so that 
they must have been thrown overboard from some 
craft in a heap — thrown into the sea to sink, and by 
the murderer.” 

44 Well, it shouldn’t be difficult to find someone who 
has put out to sea within the last four days with a 
bundle of clothes, unless, perhaps, the murderer is a 
sailor ” 

44 No, there is some hope in that, there’s hope in 
that. I see that you know your way, Mr. Leigh — 
you should have been a detective: for the murderer 
may have been a sailor as you say — quite so. But 
guess, now, sir, to whom these clothes have been 
found to belong.” 

M 1 — cannot guess.” 


148 


Mr. Bagofs House 

“ But did you not say to me, Mr. Leigh, at our 
last interview that you had private reasons to believe 
that the murdered man was a Mr. Dix ? ” 

“ I think that I did say something of the sort.” 

“ Well, then, guess now to whom those clothes have 
been found to have belonged.” 

“ To Mr. Dix? ” 

“The same! You are right, Mr. Leigh! You 
knew ! ” 

“ I did not know. Why the devil do you come here 
hinting that I am a criminal? I won’t put up with 
it. A little more and I will ” 

“ Be calm, Mr. Leigh. No need for excitement. 
That is just my dramatic way. I cannot help it, 
being a Jerseyite, and so, half French — such a dis- 
covery is naturally a little exciting to one groping 
all in the dark of a most extraordinary maze as I am. 
At any rate, so the fact stands. Those clothes are 
the clothes of Mr. Edward James Dix, the garments 
in which he was last seen to stand on this earth. It’s 
a pitiful thing too — he, an old man of nearly seventy. 
Really, you know, it is a greater shame to murder a 
young man, and yet we all feel a deeper horror when 
gray hairs are dabbled with blood. ... You said, I 
think, sir, that you have never seen Mr. Dix? ” 

“ Never,” growled Arthur, who felt as a sheep may 
feel when a snapping dog comes yelping round its 
heels. 

“ Tall old gentleman, thin, dry, with a touch of 
asthma, little bunch of side-whiskers on his jaw, bald 
149 


By Force of Circumstances 

head in the front — here’s his photo: quiet-going old 
City man, as you may guess — Baptist, pillar of his 
chapel ; lived at Wimbledon ; regular as a clock in all 
his ways for forty years: old bachelor; an authority 
on roses, about which he once wrote a book — his 
hobby. A really nice old gentleman, quiet-going — 
inoffensive — white-haired — murdered! He left Lon- 
don early in the morning before the day of his death, 
with the knowledge of his partner, Mr. Churchill, 
chiefly in order to come down here and see you on the 
Abbey business. He stopped at Oxford to have a 
brief interview on another matter at 10.15 a.m. 
There he wrote you, making the appointment to see 
you, and, ever methodical, sent a copy of his note to 
you to his office, where it was duly filed under the 
letter 4 L.’ This is how I knew he had written you — 
you see, I am frank; open as the day ! From Oxford 
all trace of him is lost. A porter there remembers 
seeing him getting into the train with a tall, pale- 
faced man — that’s all — absolutely all, till you, Mr. 
Leigh, found him lying dead and naked on the barge 
with his face smashed in, a bullet in his shoulder, and 
a cord in the flesh of his throat.” 

44 How did he get there ? ” murmured Arthur with 
a fixed stare at the floor, for the detective’s breath- 
less style was thrilling. 44 Was he dragged through 
the barley-field, thus making that trail of which I 
have been informed? ” 

44 No, sir,” was the prompt answer. 44 No body 
was dragged through that field. The impression left 
150 


Mr. Bagofs House 

on the mind by that trail is that some snake three 
hundred feet long rose out of the ground, drew its 
monstrous carcass through the field, and struck 
down this ill-fated old gentleman where he stood on 
the barge’s deck. ... But, then, that’s dreaming — 
Inspector Lawson’s fervent dreaming.” 

44 He never could have stood on the barge’s deck,” 
said Arthur musingly: 46 for just before I fell off the 
deck, I groped over every square inch of it, and he 
was not there then.” 

44 And yet he could not have been brought on to the 
deck from the shore,” said Furneaux: 44 for I under- 
stand you to say that, as you went aboard, the plank 
had been knocked away into the river? ” 

44 That is so.” 

44 Then how, Mr. Leigh, could the body have got 
on to the barge? It must surely have been on it be- 
fore the plank fell, only you did not grope over the 
deck so thoroughly as you think you did. What do 
you say to that ? ” 

44 1 can only say that I did grope over it quite 
thoroughly,” was the perplexed murmur. 

44 Then, you tell us of a miracle, Mr. Leigh.” 

Arthur closed his lips stubbornly. There was 
silence, till suddenly Inspector Furneaux was saying 
with an eye on a spot on the carpet : 

44 Then again as to the motor cap which you found, 
that seems something of a mystery, too. It was not 
the dead man’s, for his head would have needed to be 
almost twice the size to fill it. Besides, his hat has 


151 


By Force of Circumstances 

been found with his clothes in the sea, and the cap 
was not yours, for the same reason. Then whence 
did it come? for it was still warm from the head of 
someone, you say, when you picked it up. . . . 
Where, exactly, Mr. Leigh, did you pick it up? ” 

44 About fifteen yards southeast of the barge’s 
bow.” 

44 Thank you. Now, a certain Mr. — Mr. — I for- 
get his name — a gentleman who had lunch with 
you on the day after the tragedy — begins with 
a B.” 

44 Bates, or Bagot,” said Arthur. 

44 Bagot ! that’s it. This Mr. Bagot happens to 
have lost a motor-cap on that very night somehow, 
one so much like this one that his friends, on seeing it 
in Inspector Lawson’s hand as they were entering the 
Abbey, thought it must be the same. Even Mr. 
Bagot himself thought so at the first glance, and 
said, 4 Surely that’s mine ’ ; but on looking closer, he 
found that it hadn’t his name in ink on the lining, as 
his own had. You were there, Mr. Leigh, I think, 
and remember ? ” 

44 Yes, I remember.” 

44 But a man’s name in ink on his motor-cap is an 
unusual thing! Initials, perhaps, but not the full 
name. Ha ! ha ! Do you know what I said to myself 
when Inspector Lawson told me of the incident ? He ! 
he! it’s amusing how the mind jumps to conclusions 
of itself ! I said to myself : 4 The cap is this Mr. — 
Mr. — ’ what’s his name? ” 


152 


Mr. Bagot' s House 


“ Bagot.” 

“ 6 Is this Mr. Bagot’s,’ I said; 6 and Bagot some- 
how is the name of that great snake that wriggled 
through the barley-field and struck down Dix on that 
barge’s deck.’ ” 

Arthur, hearing this extraordinary expression of 
opinion about the learned anthropologist in the next 
room, could not resist a twinge of scornful merri- 
ment. 

“ Better go and tell him so, Mr. Fumeaux,” he 
said. “ He is out there now.” 

“ Oh, he is out there now ! — Yes, very funny, that’s 
what at once jumped into my head. Oh, I am like 
that, Mr. Leigh — open as the day — I tell out all my 
thoughts to everybody. But, then, you see, I had 
soon discovered that at the hour when you say you 
picked up the cap warm from someone’s head, this 
Mr. — Mr. — Bagot was having a meal in 4 The Beau- 
fort ’ at Chepstow, exactly twenty-nine miles away 
on the other side of the Channel, and no train for him 
to have reached there by for hours. There’s an alibi 
for you ! Cast steel ! Proved by ten witnesses. So 
the question remains — whose was that cap? ” 

And Arthur thought to himself : “ It was the cap 
of that man who is now caressing Elinor Hinton in 
the Ponds Covert, the motorist who tried to kidnap 
her: and I, like an idiot, have bound myself to be 
silent about the identity of a felon ! ” 

At that moment the thought of Elinor was bitter as 
gall and venom in his heart. 


153 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Yes,” continued Furneaux with a low chuckle, 
musingly smelling the broken cigar, “ I often laugh 
to think of the speed with which I jumped to a con- 
clusion about this good gentleman, Mr — er — Bagot. 
Oh, I am not one to pose as omniscient, Mr. Leigh, as 
some investigators do. I babble about my mistakes 
like a baby. And yet, consider with what curious 
coincidences things happen, as if purposely to puzzle 
poor detectives. This Mr. — Bagot, about the time 
when you say you picked up this cap, walks into 
‘ The Beaufort ’ at Chepstow twenty-nine miles 
away — without a cap or a hat. It was noticed, and 
he said that his hat , not his cap, had been blown off 
his head in looking out of the window of his train. 
Now, we kijow from his friends on the yacht Mishe 
Nahma, that he also lost a cap that night — a hat and 
a cap in one night; and the cap was exactly like the 
one you found, except, perhaps, as to size. It is one 
of those little coincidences ” 

He stopped, for the bland face of Mr. Bagot ap- 
peared in the doorway, smiling. His words were 
affable, apologetic. 

“ I see you are still engaged, Leigh. I’m afraid I 
must be off.” 

Inspector Furneaux sprang nimbly to his feet with 
a bow. 

“ I shan’t be detaining Mr. Leigh two minutes, 
sir,” he said* and he remained standing with his head 
slightly bent, almost in reverence, still sniffing the 
cigar. Really, Bagot commanded respect at once. 

154 * 


Mr. Bagofs House 

“ Two minutes, Mr. Bagot,” called Arthur, and his 
guest disappeared. 

“ That , Mr. Bagot?” asked the detective, in 
rather an awed tone. 

“ Yes,” said Arthur. 

“ Is it, now? ” and Furneaux looked at him with 
round eyes, as if lost in wonderment — “ stout gentle- 
man, thick black hair, face of a sage, fine face, power- 
ful face, large and powerful, all wrinkled about the 
eyes with much thought, much study, I’m sure. 
Bushy eyebrows — oh, yes: walks like a cat — I didn’t 
hear him coming, sir, did you? Stout and heavy, 
but the footsteps of a cat. Fine gentleman. Met 
him here the other evening. He is the gentleman, 
Mr. Leigh, who has offered to cut your financial knot 
— if I may ask? ” 

“ The same,” said Arthur. 

“ And you — agreed? You grant him the lease of 
the Abbey ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Oho ! ” purred the detective, and made a quick 
dot in his notebook. Then he went on : “ I shan’t 
detain you, Mr. Leigh; but what I chiefly came 
to say remains to be said. It is this — that some- 
how the revolver which you say you dropped in 
the river, the position of which you have so min- 
utely described, cannot be found — somehow cannot 
be found.” 

“Ah?” growled Arthur with evident irritation, 
“and what can I do, if it cannot be found? ” 

155 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ I simply mention the fact, Mr. Leigh,” came the 
polite reply. “ The mud has been dredged there — 
we have had four boys diving — yet it cannot be 
found.” 

“ I dropped it there.” 

“ Quite so, sir — but it cannot be found. It may 
have been privately found and removed by someone — 
who knows? I merely state facts — though you 
dropped it there, it is not now there. And so I am 
led to ask you, Mr. Leigh — have you, or have you 
not, seen that revolver since that night? ” 

Arthur started, stared, and made no answer. 

“ You do not answer, sir,” said Furneaux; “ so I 
ask you next whether this bullet that I now hand you 
did or did not come out of a revolver of the same 
caliber ” — and he handed to Arthur the bullet that 
he had taken out of the revolver that had lain under 
the Armenian cloth of the divan with the shirt in its 
box. 

Arthur took it, and looked at it. It was marked, 
“ Kynoch 320 ” ; and he said with a growing em- 
barrassment : 

“ This certainly is a bullet of the same kind as 
those in that revolver. I cannot say more.” 

“ But it actually came out of it, Mr. Leigh.” 

“ How do you know ? ” 

“ I took it out myself.” 

“ I thought you said that the revolver could not be 
found? ” 

“Not in the river: but was not that revolver in 
156 


Mr. Bagofs House 

this room when I last was here? You know that, 
sir.” 

Arthur half sprang out of his chair, staring at 
the man before him, who seemed to him a wizard. 

44 And I want the revolver, Mr. Leigh. Will you 
hand it over to me? ” 

In a choked and hoarse tone Arthur answered: 
44 It is no longer here.” 

44 I know that! ” cried Furneaux, his voice chang- 
ing from its smooth, semi-humorous note to a sharp- 
ness that resembled the snapping of a steel trap. 
44 But get it for me. I can tell you where to find it.” 

44 Where? ” Arthur almost whispered. 

44 In the gargoyle, Mr. Leigh, by the Abbot’s 
Port!” 

44 Good God ! ” muttered Arthur. He had hidden 
it in the dead hours of a stormy night, and the 
thought passed through his mind : 44 Is this little man 
all-knowing?” Not a word of the detective’s con- 
fession of 44 mistakes ” did he believe, or of his con- 
stant declaration that he was 44 open as the day.” 
He was sure that never a word or gesture of the man 
was quite sincere. Each phrase, apparently blurted 
forth on the spur of the moment, was meant to con- 
ceal a world of furtive knowledge and meaning and 
purpose. 

44 In the gargoyle? ” he said brokenly, glad in his 
agitation to sit down again. 44 How is it possible 
that ? ” 

44 No, that is not the point, Mr. Leigh, for I know, 
157 


By Force of Circumstances 

but how you can say that the revolver is in the Par- 
ret when you have hidden it in a gargoyle of your 
garden.” 

44 It may not be the same ! ” 

44 Oh, come, sir — one wonderfully like ! ” 

44 Yes, but I received it by post at the same time 

that I received the letter of Mr. Dix ” 

44 Ah, now, you see, you say, sir, that you received 
it by post.” 

44 1 tell the truth ! I tell the truth ! ” 

44 And you hid it, sir. Having received it by post, 
you hid it.” 

Arthur leapt up, as if to get air and breath, and 
a shout of suffocation burst from his breast. 
44 Heaven help me ! ” he cried. 44 1 seem to be in- 
criminating myself with every word I speak and 
every action I perform.” 

44 True, sir — take it as coolly as possible. But the 
shirt, sir! Mr. Dix’s shirt! marked with his ini- 
tials ! with blood-stains, and a bullet hole in the left 
shoulder ! ” 

Arthur leant his arm on a chair-back. His face 
was bloodless. He was thinking in a lost way : 44 Oh, 
well, he knows everything ! ” 

44 The shirt, sir!” cried Eurneaux with a jerky 
kind of cry that was terrifying — 44 Mr. Dix’s shirt ! 
Hand it over to me this moment ! ” 

Now Arthur spun round suddenly upon him in a 
mad passion. 

44 1 cannot,” he groaned. 

158 


Mr. Bagofs House 

44 Mr. Leigh,” said the detective with a rueful 
plaintiveness that was almost comically childish, 44 do 
not tell me that you have burnt that shirt.” 

44 Yes ! I have ! ” cried Arthur defiantly. 44 It was 
sent me by post. I thought it the act of an 
enemy ” 

But before he could utter another syllable, Mr. 
Furneaux had taken up his hat and stick, and the 
crushed cigar, and walked out of the room with an 
air of offended dignity that under less grave circum- 
stances would have beeen ludicrous. 

Arthur sank into a chair, and with his head dropped 
forward, sat thinking of nothing, only immersed in 
the consciousness that he was in misery. He forgot 
Bagot completely until the stout man again entered 
the room with a bustle that contrasted strangely with 
his previous entrance. 

44 Now, really, Leigh,” he cried, 44 1 must go. . . . 
But — what is the matter? ” 

44 Oh, I don’t know,” said Arthur wearily. 

44 Wasn’t that Furneaux of Scotland Yard who 
was with you? ” asked Mr. Bagot. 

44 Yes, and I seem to be seriously involved now in 
the wretched crime that I blundered against when I 
climbed on board that barge. Do you know who the 
dead man has turned out to be ? ” 

44 No, who? ” 

44 Mr. Dix.” 

44 Of Dix and Churchill?” 

44 Yes.” 


159 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Why, I knew him quite well ! An old man like 
that? . . . But what could Mr. Dix, of Cornhill, 
possibly have been doing on a barge on the Parret? ” 

64 Don’t ask me. I think I am losing such few wits 
as I ever possessed.” 

46 But how can they know that it was Mr. Dix — the 
man naked — his face smashed in.” 

44 They have found the clothes, you see.” 

44 Oh, they have found the clothes — good, good. 
Where, though? ” 

44 Floating in the Bristol Channel.” 

44 Funny ! But that’s a clue ! Surely, that’s a 
clue. Leigh, if I had charge of this case, I should 
undertake to have the assassin laid by the heels in 
three days.” 

44 1 daresay you would ; and I believe this little 
Furneaux man would, too, if his eyes were not all be- 
fogged and prejudiced by getting it into his head 
that I am the guilty man. I do believe he would, for 
his intellect is made of lightning.” 

44 Inspector Furneaux’s intellect ! ” repeated Mr. 
Bagot, spreading his fat palms in surprise as if the 
word had stung him. 44 My dear fellow, what are 
you talking about ? Tut ! Lightning, indeed ! A 
mere Jack-in-Office, a mind of the commonest order, 
I do assure you.” 

44 Oh, you know him ? ” 

44 Know him, yes — by repute, and personally, for 
fifteen years and more. Queer trick, that of his, 
with a cigar. Not that I am much of a smoker my- 
160 


Mr. Bagot’s House 

self. But, you see, there is hardly anyone of real 
notoriety whom I do not know.” 

“ Well, I shouldn’t have thought that you knew him 
personally from his manner just now. He seemed 
to say after you had gone that he had never seen you 
before you both met here recently.” 

Bagot’s eyes dwelt a silent moment upon Arthur. 

“ Did he? ” he said. “ But he must have seen me 
somewhere else, he had some reason ” 

“ By the way,” cried Arthur, “ till he fastened 
upon me, he thought that you were connected with 
the horror on the barge, from that incident of the 
cap — or he says that he thought so, for you never 
can tell whether the man is lying or not, or what he 
is driving at in his own mind.” 

“ That / was connected ...” wheezed Mr. Ba- 
got, his words broken by a chuckle, his forefinger 
pointing to his breast. 

“ Ha ! ha ! ha ! ” laughed Arthur : “ your clerical 
hat, sir, came into my head, and I had to laugh.” 

“ So what made him cease to suspect me? ” asked 
Mr. Bagot with lively amusement creasing the cor- 
ners of his lips. 

“ He found out that you were at Chepstow at the 
very time ! ” 

“ I see. I was at Chepstow one night lately : I 
don’t know if it was that night. . . . Oh, well, he is 
a mind of no real account, without imagination, 
without grasp. I’d pit a shrewd plowman against 
his wits, or the wits of any of them. But hasn’t he 
161 


By Force of Circumstances 

come to any sort of conclusion about that trail 
through the barley-field that they are all talking 
about — did he say? 55 

44 He only said that it gives the impression of some 
monster serpent that wriggled through and struck 
down Mr. Dix.” 

64 Really ! A touch of genuine imagination at 
last ! ” said Bagot, and he, too, took a turn through 
the room. 44 But as to yourself, Leigh,” he went 
on — 44 is the net of circumstantial evidence seriously 
closing round you, as I prophesied that it might? 99 

44 Well, it seems like it,” said Arthur, now throw- 
ing himself from his restless pacing upon a sofa. 

44 Now, I am an older man than you,” purred Bagot, 
44 and have moreover proved myself disposed to be a 
friend. So hadn’t you better tell me everything, 
and let us see if we cannot between us find a way 
out? ” 

44 It is exceedingly kind of you to take such an 
interest in my affairs,” Arthur said, and he told how 
he had received the shirt and pistol, what he had 
done with them, and how Inspector Furneaux had 
miraculously discovered it all. 

44 Here is no miracle,” said Mr. Bagot, deeply 
pondering it with his hand propping his big head: 
44 Furneaux, I have told you, owns a trashy mind of 
no account — though cunning, yes, cunning, I admit, 
as mediocre minds often are. But what is clear to 
me, Leigh, is that he really has you in his clutches, 
and that you should decamp.” 

162 


Mr. Bagofs House 

44 It is what I am thinking myself,” said 
Arthur. 

44 Do it, man ! Do it ! Do it this very night.” 

44 I do not see why I should not,” was the moody 
answer. 44 Why should I stay here to go through 
this misery? I have nothing that binds me now to 
England. I have done no wrong, but I make such 
an ass of myself at every move that I am better out 
of it.” 

44 Be careful, however,” cooed Bagot. 44 There is 
something strange in Furneaux’s whole conduct to- 
ward you. He may, for his own reasons, be only in- 
citing you to fly in order to catch you as you go. I 
should travel northeast, try to gain Rouen from 
Hull, from Rouen get to the Americas. But now I 
am giving lessons in flight to a man who certainly 
knows his way about the world.” 

44 But what of the lease of the Abbey as between 
you and me, if I disappear ? ” asked Arthur. 

44 Oh, leave that in the hands of Mowle and Mowle, 
your lawyers. They can deal with me. Just write 
to them to-night, telling them what has been agreed 
between us, and bidding them draw up a power of 
attorney which you will sign later, for you will 
always, wherever you are, doubtless let me know your 
address. Will you do this ? ” 

44 1 will think over it, and decide before mid- 
night.” 

44 Good, farewell then, for now I really must go: 
I have to return to Bridgewater for a few minutes, 
163 


By Force of Circumstances 

and get to my own place, 6 Nielpahar,’ by ten for a 
long night over a very momentous experiment on 
which I am engaged. Happy youth, who was never 
caught by the enticements of science, since he that 
increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Well, good- 
by, good-by ; decide well, and may your new start in 
life be prosperous ! ” 

Arthur accompanied Bagot down to his phaeton, 
and then, returning, sat fully an hour in a brown 
study. With regard to his meditated flight, what 
struck him now as singular was that the detective 
should have practically driven him to it by showing 
him how he lay in the hollow of the law’s hand. The 
law’s agent usually hides his knowledge of the guilty 
one’s guilt, and then makes his tiger leap before 
flight is possible. Furneaux had done just the op- 
posite. He had practically warned Arthur of what 
was coming, and had not arrested him. 

What could be his motive? Did he wish to see if 
Arthur would prove his guilt by flight, he, Furneaux, 
having, meantime, his thousand eyes open round all 
the coast to checkmate that flight? Or did he in 
his heart believe Arthur to be innocent, and warn him 
so as to suggest safety in flight to him? Or had he 
some motive for getting rid of Arthur, for keeping 
back Arthur’s evidence from the inquest? The man 
was so truly inscrutable! There was never any 
guessing what was going on behind his agreeable 
smile and smooth high brow. He appeared so in- 
significant, and so teemed with significance — he 
164 


Mr. Bagot's House 

resembled an athletic boy, with that quick twist of 
his waist and long neck, but an old Machiavelli up 
above; so that gradually one’s contempt for him 
grew into a species of fear touched with horror. 

44 At all events,” Arthur thought, 44 if he catches 
me, when once I take to my heels, he will be even 
more clever than I give him credit for. I really 
think I’d better get away from all this worry. The 
world was made wide to give room for wander- 
ing in.” 

Poor Arthur, so astute, so sure of baffling Fur- 
neaux, so plagued by hopeless love and hostile cir- 
cumstance ! 

He sprang up — he was out on the balcony brood- 
ing, with the moon now abroad in the sky — in order 
to write the letter to Mowle and Mowle re Mr. Bagot’s 
scheme for the Abbey estate; but as he passed 
through the window — he could hardly believe his 
eyes — there was Elinor Hinton before him. 

She was in such a haste, such an agitation, that 
she could scarcely speak! The glare of the rising 
moon full on her face showed it pale to the point of 
ghastliness. Her lips were slightly parted to catch 
her breath. A toque which she wore was askew on 
her hair, which was in some disarray. Her whole 
frame was a-tremble. 

44 Mr. Leigh ” — she panted her words with a heav- 
ing up and sudden drop of her bosom — 44 1 — excuse 
me — I — am in a hurry to reach a certain house be- 
fore — before another person reaches it. I — cannot 
165 


By Force of Circumstances 

go alone — I — might fail — I — could get no one to 
accompany me. I am helpless — and it is partly — 
your business, too. . . . Will you come? — there is 
danger — but come. . . . Jenkins let me pass this 
way for fear of being seen. A motor-car is down 
there ” 

For some moments Arthur was too amazed to open 
his lips. The first words that rose to them were: 
“ Could you not ask the gentleman with whom you 
have been in conference in the Ponds Covert at Pin- 
kerton’s to go with you? ” But he uttered nothing 
of the sort. He agreed, though stiffly, sorry for her 
since she was in trouble. 

“ To what house are we going? ” he asked. 

“ I can tell you in the car — to Mr. Chauncey 
Bagot’s — come.” 

“ In his absence from it? ” 

“ Oh, you waste time ! ” 

“ But he will catch — us. He said he would soon 
be going to his place. Why are we going? ” 

“ To search it ! even though he catches us ! Mr. 
Leigh, I implore you, don’t waste a moment.” 

She wrung her hands together with so agonized a 
grace, that he, half bending into running for his cap, 
half hung back to look, and to say: 

“ But — I could not!” 

“Yes, come ! come ! ” 

Her tone, the pose of her body, that “ Yes, come,” 
both familiar and pleading, was too persuasive to be 
withstood. To hell, if she wooed, he would pursue 
166 


Mr. Bagofs House 

her, and he darted into the house. A cap he could 
not find, so he seized a straw hat. 

Half a minute later they were running down to- 
gether to a car that waited on the road. Elinor, as 
she leapt in, he after her, gave the word to the chauf- 
feur, and at full speed they were away. 


167 


CHAPTER IX 


PURSUED ! 

The driver of the car, a Panhard hired in Bristol, 
must have had his palm crossed with gold by Elinor 
Hinton, for at a quite illegal pace he played the 
road-hog — through Bridgewater, and toward the 
Black Down Hills. 

For some time Arthur and Elinor, sitting side by 
side, seemed to fear to speak to each other. 

Arthur, suddenly summoned on this mysterious 
excursion, of whose object he had no knowledge, left 
it to her to speak. She seemed to shrink from speech. 
In that lucid moonlight he could see her left hand 
near him tremble a little. Her face was elfin pale 
beneath a roll of blue veil that ran aslant across her 
forehead. Her lips were pressed together like the 
petals of a rosebud, as in an angry fixity. At last 
when she would not break the silence, he resolved to 
make a beginning, or an end. 

46 1 suppose you received my note? 99 he asked. 

44 Yes,” she just murmured, with an inclination of 
the head. 

44 1 had already made terms with Mr. Bagot as 
to the lease of the Abbey when your letter reached 
168 


Pursued ! 

me, so there was nothing to be said to you, except to 
state the fact.” 

Elinor threw up her eyebrows cynically. 

“ Is the explanation, Mr. Leigh, an apology for 
the shortness of your note? ” 

“ No apology is necessary,” he cried with a flush 
of opposition. “ The shorter a note the better and 
more sincere, when there is nothing really to be said, 
except to state one’s thanks.” 

“ Still, I think the explanation was meant as an 
apology, Mr. Leigh — originally, though on second 
thoughts you discover that no apology is necessary. 
Do not take it amiss if I read your mind, since I am 
sometimes said to be quick in that way. . . . But I 
wrote you on one subject to which your note did not 
even refer.” 

“ What, about finding means to discover the size 
of my visitor’s head? Well, but I could not be ex- 
pected to take you seriously in that, since one does 
not Bertillonize one’s guests.” 

For some time she made no answer. They were 
speeding uphill between forest walls that approached 
to a meeting overhead, excluding the sheen of the 
moon. Suddenly, as they pitched out of the shadow 
into a stretch of gray road, she glanced round at 
him with the same arching of the eyebrows, asking: 
“ What have I done to you? ” 

“ To me? ” cried he lightly : “ nothing ! ” 

“ Then, why did you decide as to granting the 
lease when I had begged you in my telegram not to? 
169 


By Force of Circumstances 

You must have seen by my tone that the whole thing 
was most serious.” 

44 Really ! But do you not see that you assume an 
authority over my actions and my affairs which I 
cannot very well admit ? ” 

44 Oh, no authority. I have explained to you that 
I have a knowledge of certain things which you have 
not and therefore ” 

44 Granted that you have such knowledge, how am 
I to know what are your motives in giving me your 
commands, as you do? You may be my bitterest 
enemy for what I know, my sworn foe. Probably 
you are — very likely you are — I dare say you 
are.” 

44 That is why you are driving with me now,” said 
she, looking away from him over the country. 
44 That is why you came when I called you — because 
you knew that as your 4 sworn foe 5 I should be lead- 
ing you to your destruction. Is it not so? ” 

He stared at her, and made no reply. The motor- 
car was picking its way noisily over a road that was 
strewn with broken stones for purposes of repair. 

44 You had my telegram in the morning,” said 
Elinor presently. 44 Then, about an hour and a half 
afterwards, did you not receive my covering letter? ” 

44 No,” Arthur answered, 44 1 received no letter till 
near eight in the evening.” 

44 But when in the evening letter you saw that I 
had written you a letter in the morning which you 
had not received — what did you think? ” 

170 


Pursued! 


44 I don’t know that I thought anything. Perhaps 
I regarded it as odd.” 

“ 4 Perhaps ’ ! Didn’t you 6 perhaps ’ think it 
very odd, Mr. Leigh ? ” 

44 L — may have done so. I was irritated and upset 
about something which I had — witnessed — in a wood 
— a little while before, and I — to be frank — didn’t 
care about any earthly thing.” 

At this Elinor knit her brows a little, touched with 
a vague trouble, a curious perplexity. Then she 
said: 

44 Please try to care now. Consider the strange- 
ness of that letter miscarrying, and tell me what you 
think? ” 

44 It was really strange. Was the messenger a 
trustworthy person ? ” 

44 Evidently not. He told me afterwards that he 
had duly delivered the letter, and it is clear he had 
not. So what do you make of it? ” 

44 That he had either lost the letter, or else, some- 
how been tampered with.” 

44 He was quite sober. He didn’t, of course, lose 
it — he was tampered with. By whom, Mr. Leigh?” 

44 How should I know ? ” 

44 Was not the letter a document pressing you not 
to lease the property to a certain person ? Who else 
than that person had any motive to prevent you 
from receiving it? ” 

Arthur started, and frowned. 

44 Could Bagot be capable ” he growled. 

171 


By Force of Circumstances 

“Oh, quite!” said Elinor with half a laugh, throw- 
ing up her piquant face adorably. 44 It was not, 
indeed, Mr. Bagot himself who did the deed, since I 
happen to know that he was elsewhere at the time of 
the messenger’s journey to you. Mr. Bagot gener- 
ally is elsewhere, Mr. Leigh. But, oh, I assure you, 
he has subjects, tools, docile disciples, who do his 
little jobs for him with enthusiasm! ” 

“ Why, I’d break his head, if I thought ” be- 

gan Arthur. 

44 Oh, do think, and do break his head ! — if you 
can,” said Elinor, 44 for it is quite true, and it is a 
dangerous head.” 

44 He is a strange man ! ” mused Leigh aloud, 44 but 
he is also a great man ! It is not easy to believe that 
he’d do anything mean.” 

Elinor glanced at his face, which was stooped, and 
in shadow, for the moon, which kept moving in and 
out among mounds of cloud, now drowned the 
countryside in shining, and now shrouded it in 
shadow. 

44 I am afraid that Mr. Leigh is one of those who 
has come under the mesmerism of Mr. Bagot’s 
tongue,” she said at last, 44 though I was at the pains 
to warn you, sir, that he is persuasive. The vampire 
lulls its victims into slumber by the steady flutter of 
its pinions over them. Mr. Bagot achieves the same 
end by the honey of his tongue, so that ” 

44 My dear young lady,” said Arthur, spinning 
round toward her, 44 will you permit me to say that 
172 


Pursued! 


you are talking nonsense? I am not the kind of man 
whom any mortal could stupefy in that way.” 

“Ah, I thought you would resent my mention of 
the truth,” said Elinor quite calmly : “ but you need 
not be huffy, Mr. Leigh, since you are only one of a 
host of people whom Mr. Bagot has persuaded and 
inveigled. Happy for you that you have someone to 
open your eyes in time — if I am in time.” 

Arthur made no answer. He sat deep in thought. 
Why, he asked himself, was she acting with such 
double purpose? If he had not seen. Ah, if he had 
not seen! Presently, starting, he said: 

“ Where are we tearing to on this night-ride, any- 
way? It is singular how you commandeer me, Miss 
Hinton, as though the days of slavery were not a 
thing of the past. Here I am with you, since you 
have ordered me, and, I confess, I always do enjoy a 
ride by moonlight through fine country. But at 
least it might occur to you to explain where you mean 
to take me.” 

Again Elinor glanced at him. 

“ What have I done to you ? ” she demanded. 

“ Nothing ! Haven’t I told you — nothing ! Isn’t 
my desire a perfectly natural one, to know whither I 
am being hurried off in this way ? ” 

“I was quite explicit — we are going to Mr. Bagot’s 
house.” 

“ Extraordinary thing ! You are not even at the 
pains to mention what for.” 

“ But I told you at the Abbey — to search it.” 

173 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Even more extraordinary ! I remember your 
saying that; but I remain wholly in the dark! Are 
we going to trespass upon private property — or 
what? And why?” 

“We are not going exactly on our own 
account ” 

“ I am glad you say 4 we ’ — it is decidedly a case of 
we, isn’t it? ” 

“ I do not know what I have done that you should 
object to be associated with me, Mr. Leigh.” 

“Have I objected? I haven’t! There now, you 
see, it is you who charge me with something. I don’t 
object — not at all. But please continue. We are 
not going on our own account ” 

Elinor seemed to be helpless against his would-be 
sarcasm. 

“ On someone else’s,” she said. “ Someone who 
wishes well to you and to me: someone who has need 
that Mr. Bagot’s house should be searched this very 
night, this very hour, before Mr. Bagot again enters 
it; someone who could not possibly go to search it 
himself, having something else to do which pressingly 
occupies him — and who, believing in my intelligence, 
trusting me implicitly, agreed that I should go, when 
I volunteered, and suggested that you should ac- 
company me. So, now, you know everything.” 

“ Do I, by Jove! ” laughed Leigh, bitter with the 
knowledge that she had many interests in life from 
which he was debarred. “ Who on earth is this mys- 
terious c someone ’ ? And why does this 6 someone ’ 
174 


Pursued ! 


despatch poor me and you to search someone else’s 
property without his knowledge or consent, with the 
second someone, by the way, probably racing fast be- 
hind us now to catch us in the act, for Mr. Bagot 
distinctly told me an hour ago that he was about to 
go home.” 

“ We must risk that much. 1 don’t feel cold all 
over ; do you P 99 

44 No, the night is nice and warm. But why, why, 
this search ? 99 

44 Well, the someone urgently needs, first of all, to 
secure a hat or some headgear of Mr. Bagot’s which 
will give him the exact size of Mr. Bagot’s skillful 
skull. He needs, secondly, to discover something of 
the nature of that invention by which Mr. Bagot pro- 
poses to bring a sudden Millennium upon the earth. 
Now you know everything, and are satisfied.” 

Arthur was almost enraged with her. 

44 No, still I am not satisfied,” he protested. 44 Far 
from it, since I still have no idea where I am . . . 
4 hat,’ you say : Mr. Bagot’s 4 invention ’ ; but what in 
the world . . . ? First of all, who is this someone who 
4 wishes me well,’ and 4 suggested ’ that I should come 
with you on this expedition ? ” 

A drunken song came out from a public-house in a 
little village through which they were rushing. The 
interruption gave Elinor time for thought. 

44 1 am afraid I am hardly authorized to tell you,” 
she said, and the next moment they dashed into 
shadow up a long lane. 


175 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ I seem, however, to have a right to ask,” he 
urged. 

“ Oh, surely : and I a right not to reply, unless I 
like. . . . And yet I do not see why I shouldn’t, for I 
don’t definitely know that he would mind. It was In- 
spector Furneaux, then.” 

“ Furneaux ! What, that ubiquitous little man ! — 
he wishes me well? Why, he is trying his very best 
to hang me ! ” 

“ He isn’t.” 

“ He is.” 

“ He isn’t. Association with Bagot has driven you 
crazy, Mr. Leigh.” 

“ Excellent ! Now we are nearer the heart of 
things. Yet it is not all Bagot. Perhaps I know 
more than you dream that I know.” 

She glanced sharply at him. 

“ How so ? What are you driving at ? ” 

“ Ah, it doesn’t matter to you,” he cried, with the 
staccato utterance of a man who is enduring pain 
yet refuses to yield. “ I am asking you to explain 
your association with this detective work. How is it 
possible that you ” 

He was interrupted by Elinor calling out to the 
chauffeur: “ Stop here ! ” 

The motor-car drew up at a point of the lane where 
another road, deep in the shadow of trees, led off at 
an acute angle. Elinor alighted so speedily that 
Leigh had no time to anticipate her movements. She 
whispered to the chauffeur that he was to go some 
176 


Pursued! 


way up the second lane, and there await her, keeping 
the engine running free. 

44 Come,” she said to Arthur. 

44 Are we near? ” he asked as they started to walk 
along the straight road ahead. 

44 It is a few hundred yards away,” she an- 
swered. 

44 You have been here before, then? ” 

“ Once, with my father.” 

Nothing more was said. Now that they were^on 
the very brink of their adventure, a hush fell upon 
them both. Only once Elinor observed in a murmur : 
64 There may be danger. . . .” 

44 Obviously,” said he. 

44 You can go back, and wait in the car, if you like, 
and I’ll go on alone.” 

44 Don’t be flippant,” he growled. 

Their footsteps sounded loud in the peace of the 
night that was broken only by the hum of the engine 
and the hoot of an owl some long distance off, a cry 
eerily suggestive of a phantom warning. They 
walked under trees through which the moonlight, 
peeping, dappled the path with a pattern of leaves; 
and after ten minutes stood before a gate of wrought 
iron in a lofty brick w T all. 

44 Is this it ? ” asked Arthur. 

44 Yes.” 

44 But the gate is locked.” 

44 1 expected that. There are several other gates, 
for this wall surrounds the whole estate; but it is 
177 


By Force of Circumstances 

useless walking round it, since it is immense, and I 
expect that we shall find all the other gates locked.” 

46 Well, but there must be lodge-keepers, or some- 
body, somewhere.” 

44 No, I believe that at present there isn’t a soul 
employed on the whole place.” 

44 So how do you propose that we get in? — if we 
are to get in.” 

44 Couldn’t you climb this gate, and then find some 
means inside of pulling me over ? ” 

44 It can be done certainly ; but — I don’t like 
it!” 

44 Isn’t it rather late to think of that now ? ” 

44 Really,” said Arthur, 44 you speak as though I 
came of my own initiative.” 

44 Let us not quarrel,” she said. 44 To surmount 
the gates — that is the difficulty. Or you can go back, 
if you like.” 

44 Well, suppose I go back, or suppose I hadn’t 
come, how would you have got in? ” 

44 The point is deferred for subsequent considera- 
tion. No doubt I should have found a way. And 
you have come, so where’s the good of supposing? ” 

They spoke in low tones, murmurously in concert 
with the murmuring of the night wind through the 
wilderness of foliage shut in by the wall. Arthur 
stood and eyed her in silence for a while, meditating 
upon her with a smile of menace on his lips which 
meant, 44 If only you were all, all, mine, you wisp of 
womanhood, wouldn’t I glory to be a hero in your 
178 


Pursued! 


eyes ! ” Then suddenly he yielded. “ Well, here 
goes,” he cried, and sprang at the gate. 

Elinor saw him climb, heard him drop on the other 
side, and then waited during what seemed to her a 
long time, though, in fact, it was not many minutes 
before she caught a sound of heavy breathing and 
the crunch of gravel. 

“ I’ve found a ladder! ” he announced laboriously, 
and he put it against the wall within, mounted, drew 
it up, and let it down to her; she stepped up, was 
soon down on the inner side with him, and they went 
off through the gloom of the thick covert, leaving the 
ladder leaning against the inner edge of the wall. 

“ The house is that way,” said Elinor, pointing. 
“ Look ! If you peep through here you can see it.” 

“ What a wilderness the place is ! ” remarked 
Arthur. “ There seems, in truth, to be not a creature 
on it, except birds, squirrels, and ground-game. The 
ladder I found leaning against a pear-tree away 
yonder.” 

Elinor emulated his matter-of-fact tone. 

“ He bought the estate,” she explained , 66 two years 
before he had the thought of his invention, and meant, 
he said, to make a paradise of it. But from the day 
he began his invention, everything else has gone out 
of his head. The man is really a monomaniac.” 

“ Every great man is a monomaniac, and I am al- 
most willing to believe in that invention, from what I 
know of Bagot. But what a state he has the grounds 
in! One can hardly step forward, and it is as dark 
179 


By Force of Circumstances 

as though no moon was flaming away up there. . . . 
Suppose I keep you in here, lock you up in a top 
room of that tower there, and never let you out till 
your dying day? ” 

“ Do you wish me to die, then, so soon ? ” 

“ It would be only what you deserve — trusting 
yourself alone with me here, in the dead of night, too. 
You don’t know me. You have seen me four times in 
your life. I am nothing to you, no, nor ever shall 
be.” 

“ It is a wonder that at a time like this you have so 
little to occupy your mind, Mr. Leigh,” said Elinor, 
pressing aside an obstructing bush. 

“ That is your fault. If you tell me nothing, my 
mind is naturally occupied with such idle thoughts as 
whir through it. You forget that I am inured to 
this night-work. I am not in any stew of appre- 
hension. Look — that Gothic window high up there — 
that’s where I shall imprison you. I say, wouldn’t 
that be rather joyous — to have old Bagot searching 
all over the world for you, wanting to marry you, and 
you locked up in his own place all the while ! ” 

66 Quite fascinating. It only needs pluck and in- 
clination on your part, too. When we are in the 
house ” 

“ Ah ! we fall back to earth again. How are we to 
get into the house. We can’t break anything, you 
know, for that’s burglary, or something.” 

“ Oh, no doubt we shall find a way. And when we 
are in ” 


180 


Pursued! 


“ Look,” whispered Arthur suddenly, stooping 
low to the ground : 44 Someone has been here to-day.” 

They had now come out into an almost open lawn 
before the house-front: and over the grass went 
Arthur, bending as he crept, peering; nodding to 
himself. At last he straightened his back. 

44 Yes,” he said, 44 someone has been here — I think 
to-day, possibly yesterday — someone with big feet, 
about Bagot’s size — and he was dragging, as he went 
— something — something heavy, possibly a man who 
had fainted and so couldn’t make footsteps, possibly 
a forked branch, or that sort of thing. Can you see 
it? The double track is marked quite clearly just 
here. Curious, isn’t it? May Mr. Bagot possibly 
have been here at any time to-day or yesterday? Do 
you know? ” 

Elinor, too, was bent, looking at the marks in the 
grass, which was still wet beneath with the rain that 
had fallen two nights earlier. 

44 No,” she answered, 44 he could hardly have been 
here to-day, but a visit was possible yesterday be- 
tween noon and seven in the evening.” 

Arthur said nothing. He was a good tracker, and 
the quest interested him. He went on following the 
trail, which led clearly to the front of a gloomy old 
building of many gables and a complication of roofs 
and angles. 

All at once, at the portal, he beckoned to Elinor a 
little behind, sending out the triumphant whisper: 
44 Here’s luck!” 


181 


By Force of Circumstances 

Elinor raising her eyes, for she, too, was intent on 
the grass marks, saw herself already under the shadow 
of the mansion. There was something in its gloom 
that was appalling to the heart’s imagination. The 
stillness was profound, for the strich-owl which 
hardly ceased to screech far off merely increased the 
sense of soundlessness, and she ran to him with a feel- 
ing of comfort that he was with her, of secret thank- 
fulness that she had not dared to come alone. He 
was so cool now, so splendidly unafraid. He whis- 
pered again, 44 Here’s luck — the door is open.” 

She handed him from her pocket a box of wax 
vestas, and a miniature candle, pink and voluted, as 
they stepped within. 

44 Would it be wise to light a candle? ” he said at 
her ear, involuntarily sinking his voice to the pitch of 
those engaged in nefarious business. 44 1 think not. 
I’ll strike the matches as we go.” 

44 Let us look first for a hat or cap of his,” she 
murmured. 

The floors of both the outer and inner halls were of 
marble slabs which gave out resounding echoes, even 
of their wary footsteps. Moving onward, they saw 
antlers of stags, hat-stands, stacks of old fishing rods, 
guns, an American organ, marble seats, an old 
mackintosh, one riding-glove, a violin without any 
bridge: but no hat, no cap. 

44 1 know that he keeps some clothes here,” Elinor 
whispered. 44 Perhaps we shall have to go upstairs.” 

The match burnt out into darkness. 44 That will 


182 


Pursued! 


be my chance to lock you up for ever,” chuckled 
Arthur with his mouth at her ear. 

44 People who try to do two things at the same time, 
seldom do either,” she murmured back. 44 Lock me 
up, or find the cap — you won’t do both.” 

44 Then, I’ll lock you up,” he whispered, 44 safe 
from the world, and all its temptations, and its false 
steps, and its sorrows. Oh, I am surprised at you ! ” 

44 I have not even the slightest idea what it is you 
are driving at,” she said. ... 44 Light a match, Mr. 
Leigh ! ” 

He struck another match. They made three or 
four forward steps, and now suddenly he halted again, 
gazing downward. 44 Look,” he said, 44 you can see 
that whatever it was that was being dragged along 
the ground outside was brought in here ” — and he 
showed her two little trails of dirt on the marble, 
parallel to each other, made by two paralyzed feet, 
or by something forked. 

44 If we could follow this trail . . .” suggested 
Elinor. 

44 It ceases here apparently,” he announced, but 
some moments later when he had struck a third match, 
and was almost across the hall, he added : 44 1 think 
the trail went up that stair,” for just there a marble 
stairway curved upward, leaving on the left a large 
dining-room. 

Nearly prone on the steps he moved on, searching 
for some trace and confirmation of his divination 
with that instinct of the scout which scents out where 
183 


By Force of Circumstances 

sight fails, striking his matches with impatience, his 
eyes everywhere while the unreliable light lasted, she 
following step by step, hanging upon the broken 
sounds of words which dropped out of his mouth. 

“ Yes, I think ” she heard him say. 

In the next instant he was upright, silent, con- 
centered, listening in darkness. She did not under- 
stand, but he stretched out a hand, which happened 
to touch her neck. She wanted to scream, but did 
not. He drew her near. 

44 Did you hear anything ? ” he whispered, so 
secretly that she again felt that absurd inclination to 
shriek aloud. 

44 No,” she managed to say. 

44 1 thought — down there — a slight something,” he 
told her. They stood there in the pitch darkness 
several minutes, waiting for the house to give out a 
sound, hardly breathing. But nothing was to be 
heard, and Arthur gave her shoulder a reassuring 
grip. 

44 Perhaps I was mistaken ; come on,” he said. 

They crept on up with an even more utter secrecy 
than before, no longer venturing to strike matches. 
They reached the landing and found their feet on 
soft carpet. They pressed forward, in thick dark- 
ness, they knew not whither, but making away from 
the stair before striking any new light; and all at 
once, as they thus went, Elinor holding on to Arthur’s 
hand, a cry of 44 Oh ! ” low, muffled, but very expres- 
sive of horror, escaped from her lips. 

184 * 


Pursued! 


At the same time she had started backward with a 
tug, involuntarily given. 

46 What is it? ” he whispered. 

She did not answer; but he, now making a move- 
ment with his free left arm, touched something before 
him, and from him, too, came a sound, as he, too, 
shrank backward with a start. 

The next moment, without stopping to think, he 
struck a light. 

They had thought that they were in a corridor, but 
they saw now that they were in a large chamber with 
a stucco ceiling and gilt mirrors, along one wall of 
which they had been moving, Elinor nearest the wall. 
At one glance that wall had an inward projection 
about three feet wide, to which, in moving forward, 
Elinor had come, and there had touched something 
like flesh. A finger of Arthur’s hand also had touched 
it a moment afterwards; and when the match was 
struck, both sprang backward from a thing of which 
they caught one flying glimpse. 

It appeared to them that a man was there in the 
angle between the wall and its inward projection, 
rather more on the projection than on the long part 
of the wall, leaning against it, but crouched, almost 
kneeling; and their first half-formed impression was 
that he was just on the point of springing at 
them, for they seemed to find a wild glare in his 
eyes. 

They were vaguely aware that he was an aged 
man, even more vaguely that he was very deadly pale, 
185 


By Force of Circumstances 

that they were in the presence of some strange fate, 
that somewhere on his face was a stain, a trace, a dull 
streak of glaring red, a flag of horror. 

But their eyes rested on him not two ticks of the 
clock, nor could they have told what in that one 
instant they had beheld, save that it was an impression 
of staring frenzy, for before ever they could even 
breathe, or think, to themselves, “ He is dead,” 
the echoes thundered at a pistol-shot which rang 
out behind them. The match was out, and they 
were defenseless. Arthur caught Elinor into 
his arms and ran wildly down the length of the 
apartment. 

He heard her moan very low. He knew that she 
was wounded, yet he put his mouth to her ear with a 
“ Sli-h-h ” so soft that it could not have been heard 
six inches from his lips. 

But this room was not carpeted, the floor being 
made of parquet, nor did he run far, realizing that 
with all his care his steps were making sounds. Even 
as a second shot shocked the silence of the night, he 
stopped against a wall, deposited Elinor almost 
heavily on the floor, and in a second had off the shoes 
which luckily he was wearing instead of boots. No 
ray of the moon penetrated the room, the procession 
of windows being all shuttered; and, catching up his 
burden, leaving his shoes, he now again began to run, 
with one hand a little out in order to encounter the 
wall ahead. 

When he reached it, he groped along to the right 
186 


Pursued! 


for a door. There was no sound now, but a con- 
sciousness all in the night that the assassin was there 
behind, waiting for something to guide his aim — an 
assassin more awful to the fancy than an army of 
gunners, because, hidden in the dark, he was clothed 
in all the mystery, malignancy, and terror of a ghost. 
When, after a minute’s groping along the wall, 
Arthur got to a great door and found it closed, he 
groped for the handle and turned it. Warily as he 
had turned it, he understood that once in the process 
a little sound had been made, so instantly he was down 
on the floor, taking his precious load with him — 
wisely, for a moment afterwards a third wind whistled, 
a third shot struck the door ; but almost as it struck, 
he, cringing, stalking low, was through, and away, 
she in his arms. 

Down another corridor, into a room — as it seemed 
— for he butted on a wall. He searched about — could 
find no exit. 

“ Put me down,” whispered Elinor now, for she 
heard the strain and labor of his breath. 

“ You are wounded ! ” he panted. 

“ Nothing — a scratch.” 

He put her down, ran on, feeling the wall with his 
right hand, with his left holding her by an arm, 
struck his knees against what appeared to be a sofa, 
skirted it, went on more cautiously, but with his foot 
struck what seemed a hassock, which fell over. Stock 
still he stood now, stopped, waiting, peering, his soul 
in his ears. 


187 


By Force of Circumstances 

There was no sound of pursuit, however. 

“ He thinks I have a revolver,” he panted. “ If 
only I had! ” 

She did not answer, but immediately he could feel 
something cold stealing into his hand, the cold of 
steel — a little five-chamber revolver from her pocket, 
a toy, but a useful one, such as many American women 
own. 

Now he felt ready for his enemy. He laid his 
finger on the trigger-guard, moved on, came again 
to the same door by which he had unknowingly entered 
the room, and passed out. His object, his hope, was 
to rediscover the stair by which he had come up, and 
so to reach the f ront door, the shrubbery, the wall, the 
ladder, the road. In reality, he was making in almost 
the opposite direction, without any true idea of direc- 
tion left in him. He longed to strike a match, for 
the upper part of the house seemed to be in a uniform 
gloom, with all shutters barred: but he dared not. 
However, he was not long now before he came to a 
stair, though not the stair which he had in his mind — 
came to it, and slipped down three steps, dragging 
Elinor with him and making a good deal of noise. 
He checked his fall by grasping the banisters; nor 
one instant too soon was he down on his face and 
pitching himself and her to the other side of the stair : 
for almost instantly, as he stumbled, that wakeful ear 
which hearkened in the dark, and that waiting 
weapon which hid in it, proved anew their presence. 
From fifteen yards away down a corridor that faced 
188 


Pursued! 


the stair the crack rang out ; and, as it rang, there 
was a flash of light, and a vague shape in the glare, 
and with it another crack of a weapon — Arthur’s this 
time — even as he dragged Elinor f rom one side of the 
stair to the other, and there lay in the darkness, wait- 
ing, waiting, thinking that the pursuer would come, 
would fancy that he, Arthur, had gone on down, and 
would come, and, in passing, would not be utterly 
soundless and would drop dead. He now had Elinor 
pressed closely to him, could feel the hurricane of her 
breathing, as she the mortal stress of his, and they 
waited while the wild heart beat, and the wild eye 
stared at nothing. . . . 

But nothing came, and step by step, without ris- 
ing, without a sound, moving down with the silent 
stealth of a glacier, they descended, till, at the 
bottom, they were stopped by a wall, moved along it 
to the left, fingering the smooth surface, came again 
to an open door, and passed into a room. They had 
been so long buried in darkness without one ray, that 
it was with a sense of surprise that in here they could 
make out each other’s presence with the eye when 
they stood close together. For though the room, 
which was very large, had two windows shuttered, a 
third window was only half-shuttered — though it, 
too, had heavy curtains which excluded the moon- 
light. 

Anyway, some rays of light were diffused through 
it, and Arthur was hardly in before he was aware that 
there were two doors, both of which had keys ; and as 
189 


By Force of Circumstances 

he locked one, ran to the other, and turned the key, he 
panted to himself, “ Safe ! ” 

The next instant a pistol bullet whizzed past his 
ear, and banged into the oak of the door which he had 
just locked. The omnipresent arm of his enemy was 
there also, and Arthur’s heart thumped violently at 
the thought that he had locked the would-be murderer 
into the same chamber in which he had locked Elinor. 
For himself he had no care at all. He was beyond 
that. Instantly he, too, fired, in the direction from 
which some lightning instinct of his eye-corner in- 
spired him with the idea that the flash of fire had 
darted forth; and, as he fired, he flew to Elinor, had 
her in his embrace, and was with her beneath a bed 
whose outlines he had perceived on his first entrance 
into the room. 

It was an old-fashioned mahogany bedstead, with 
its head at one of the three windows — apparently the 
only furniture in the room; and a whitish drapery 
hanging from two of its posts had originally at- 
tracted his attention. There was a bed on it without 
any covering, but underneath the fugitives found a 
bundle of cloth which proved to be soiled sheets. 
They lay there on their faces some minutes, staring 
forth, and since there appeared to be no other furni- 
ture than the bed, Arthur thought, “ If he dares 
shoot now, I shall see where he is, and he is a dead 
man.” 

He held his weapon in readiness, prepared to shoot 
quick at the first prophecy of the ghost of light or 
190 


Pursued! 


sound that struck upon his straining senses, and when 
a shot rang out, he fired so promptly that the two 
sounds were almost one, merging into a brisk demi- 
semi-quaver bang-bang. But Arthur’s shot was too 
involuntary to be skillful. In fact he had seen noth- 
ing, shot at nothing, and, to his amazement, the shot 
which he answered made no flash that he could see; 
and he was bitterly aware that only two more bullets 
remained to him. 

Three seconds, and another report sounded — three 
more, and there was another ; and in neither case was 
there any sign of a flash or inflamed haze, so that now 
to terror was added mystery, and to mortal peril a 
perplexity without bounds. 

Arthur could feel Elinor trembling with excitement 
at his left hand, and himself, too, trembling. Regu- 
larly as a clock striking the hour, every three seconds 
came a shot, and, as though they saw it with their 
eyes, the crouching couple could picture somewhere in 
the dark a vindictive lip, an eye all alight with 
menace, an unrelenting arm. 

“ Firing from above,” panted Arthur at Elinor’s 
ear: for that alone at last seemed the only explanation 
of the firer’s invisibility, though in what way “ from 
above ” he had no idea ; but when he stretched his neck 
out beyond the bed, he could now see a gallery that 
ran along one wall of the room, which had once been 
a ballroom, and as the next probing bullet was sent 
out, the flash up there caught his eye. The murderer 
was standing in the gallery just over the bedstead, 
191 


By Force of Circumstances 

industriously shooting through the bed and its laths 
on the chance that one shot in fifty would do his mur- 
derous work, and Arthur thought that at his feet the 
man must have collected a little arsenal of weapons. 

Arthur worked himself yet farther out, in spite of 
the restraining pull of Elinor at him, and when the 
next shot flashed from above, he fired his fourth shot 
at a blaze of light; but its only effect was an instant 
answer from above, and thenceforth a slight quicken- 
ing in the grim regularity of the reports, the enemy, 
in fact, feeling himself fairly safe behind the row of 
massive balusters which formed the front of the 
gallery. 

Arthur quickly understood this, and whispering to 
Elinor, “ Come,” began to move on all-fours towards 
the gallery; but now, as a new bullet banged down 
from above, his mind being ever intent on her, he was 
aware of a low moan of pain from her lips. 


192 


CHAPTER X 


DISAPPEARANCE OF MR. CHURCHILL 

64 You are not hurt again?” he whispered, with 
an agony in his voice, while his face was twisted into 
a horror of pity. 

No answer reached him for some seconds; then a 
murmur in which he recognized the tone of pain, re- 
plied: 44 No; go on.” 

44 This way,” he whispered, and presently they had 
crawled from beneath the bed out under the gallery, 
a fact apparently unknown to their enemy, who kept 
on potting industriously at the bed with the regular- 
ity of a clock striking a fiftieth hour. 

Arthur, meantime, was tending Elinor where she 
sat in a corner, bandaging with his handkerchief her 
right forearm in which she had received a flesh- 
wound — the forearm of the same arm which, higher 
up, had been grazed with a bullet above-stairs. This 
done, he left her, ran to the nearest of the three win- 
dows — large oriel Gothics, the nearest of the three 
no more than half shuttered — and noiselessly open- 
ing an oriel-leaf, peeped out. But the ground, an 
old flower bed, now grown with bush, was not less 
than twenty-four feet down, and he uttered a groan 
of despair. 


1 93 


By Force of Circumstances 

He next made his way, running soft in his stock- 
ing-feet, to the other end of the gallery, hoping to 
find a stair by which to make a dash upward, and so 
with his last shot end that venomous mechanism that 
kept on shooting at the bed. But there was no stair. 

There were pillars, however; and he thought that 
if he could silently climb that one nearest the bed, 
close behind which, somewhere, the firing was going 
on, and if he could intrude the barrel of the revolver 
between two of the balusters, and be lucky, that 
might do. He crept back, then, and began the at- 
tempt; but, as the pillar was large for his embrace, 
and made of polished wood, he slipped back down 
with a thud, which, however, seemed not to have been 
heard above. He was trying again, when he felt his 
coat dragged from below, heard Elinor’s terrified, 
“No, no, not that!” slipped back down, and now 
knew that a bullet had pinged, no longer into the 
bed, but into the floor near his feet: for the firer, 
having caught some sound, was leaning over the 
balusters to shoot underneath. 

“Wait! let me!” Arthur breathed vehemently 
into her ear, for she still grasped his jacket. 

“ No — the moonlight — not that,” she panted. 

“ Then what? ” he asked. 

“ The sheets ! ” she murmured, and instantly was 
on her face again creeping under the bed, unchecked 
by the “ Stop ! ” which he hissed at her. Yet he 
stood amazed at her daring in venturing again into 
that bullet-swept region where she had just been hit. 

194 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

But she was quickly back, drawing after her the 
bundle that she had at once noticed under the bed. 
Soon with agitated hands of haste both were tying 
the clothes to a mullion of the oriel; the shots now 
penetrating well within under the gallery, but strik- 
ing a little short of their position against the wall. 
And all at once, just when the chain of sheets was 
secured to the mullion, the shots ceased, and thievish 
fleet feet were heard above, three distinct steps, 
which made Arthur pant : 

“ He is running somewhere to cut us off.” 

The next moment, however, he was out of the win- 
dow, going first in order to catch Elinor if her in- 
jured arm should fail her and, as he reached the 
ground, he looked up to see her, too, coming, and 
caught her as she neared him. 

As they turned to run, they heard a rattle of 
broken glass, and then a gun-report, somewhat ahead 
of them, showing that the assassin had not waited to 
open the window, but had shot through its glass. 
Stooping among the brushwood, they ran in the op- 
posite direction of their start, not knowing whether 
that was the way in which their ladder lay or not. 
The moon was just then working through cloud- 
masses, and the shadow tended still further to be- 
wilder their already bewildered sense of things. But, 
certain that they were being pursued, they ran well, 
trusting in luck to lead them, crossed a path out of 
bush into bush, butted upon a shrubbery-wall with 
an open gate in it, doubled into the shrubbery, start- 
195 


By Force of Circumstances 

ling some wild fowl, and in the umbrageous greenery, 
where a deep gloom brooded, found a summer-house, 
in which they sought sanctuary. 

The summer-house was small, though stout, made 
of logs, with bolted window-shutters, and a key in 
the lock of its one door, which Arthur locked. There 
was a seat running round three sides, and upon this 
they threw themselves, exhausted by the long-drawn 
ordeal of overwrought emotion through which they 
had passed. And for a long time they sat there side 
by side in darkness, listening, without saying a word. 
If the man’s arm clasped the woman’s shoulders that 
was excusable. Neither seemed to be aware of this 
lover-like attitude. 

44 How is the arm now? ” Arthur asked at last. 

“ It keeps burning in the two places,” she an- 
swered with a weary resignation. 44 Nothing very 
much. You were not hit at all? ” 

44 Not touched.” 

44 Well, that is how it always happens in life. The 
woman catches it all, and the man goes off scot-free.” 

44 It was the woman who insisted upon coming, 
the man didn’t want to come; so it’s only fair.” 

44 Then, why did he come? ” 

44 The woman beguiled him, and he came.” 

44 And got her shot.” 

44 What would have happened if he hadn't come? ” 

44 Mr. Chauncey Bagot might have got shot in- 
stead.” 

44 Your gratitude is overwhelming ! But I do not 
196 


Disappearance of Mr . Churchill 

know why you believe that Mr. Bagot was our as- 
sailant. We didn’t see him.” 

46 Ah, blessed is he who hath not seen Mr. Bagot 
and yet hath believed,” she said dryly. 

“ But that man in the angle between the wall and 
its projection in that first room,” — his voice dropped 
to a whisper — 44 did you see him when I struck the 
match ? ” 

44 Yes, I saw him,” she said. 

44 And what impression did you have of him? Tell 
me, so that I may find if we agree.” 

44 He was old.” 

44 Yes.” 

44 He was tall and thin.” 

44 Yes.” 

44 He was bent double — looked as if he was going 
to spring at us.” 

44 Quite so.” 

44 There was something red on his face.” 

44 Yes.” 

44 He was dead.” 

Arthur did not answer. 

And in the silence that followed, suddenly anew, 
their hearts leapt into their mouths. Outside their 
little house of rest was a stealthy tread. 

They were aware that the handle of their door was 
softly turned, that pressure was being put upon the 
lock outside. Then all was still for a long time. 

There they sat, Arthur holding Elinor’s shoulders, 
she gripping tight the bottom of his jacket, both 
197 


By Force of Circumstances 

hardly breathing, listening for the malignant ghost 
that prowled around them. And half an hour, an 
hour, of suspense that tortured, passed thus. 

At last the girl could bear it no longer. 

44 Is he still there? ” she breathed at Arthur’s ear. 

44 I fancy he is gone,” whispered Arthur. 44 I 
fancy I heard his retreating footsteps.” 

44 He is not gone far,” she said. 44 He is under 
cover, and will shoot, if we show ourselves, and you 
have only one cartridge left. We are in prison here. 
He can starve us out.” 

Arthur made no answer, and she said again after . 
a long time : 

44 This is imprisonment. And do you know where 
I am supposed by my father to be? Asleep in my 
happy bed in my stateroom on the Mishe Nahma. I 
had plotted everything nicely so as to get back by 
midnight, steal down to bed, and look innocent in 
the morning. It must be morning already. Strike 
a match and see.” 

44 Not safe,” he whispered. 44 There may be a 
crack through which he may see the glare, and he 
may not at present be certain that we are here, even 
though he finds that the door doesn’t open to him.” 

44 But what can we do? ” 

44 1 think I’ll venture out, and risk a catch-as- 
catch-can with him with my one shot.” 

44 Mr. Leigh, you wouldn’t dare ! ” 

44 Why so? I do dare.” 

44 But stay — think — for me — for yourself,” she 
198 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

pleaded with her fingers now clasped together on his 
shoulder. “ If you go out, you cannot fail to be 
killed — he is in hiding, armed, and if you were killed, 
what would happen to me? Something far worse 
than being killed, I should be a prisoner — I have 
nearly been a prisoner here once before to-day — my 
friends would never know my fate. And for your- 
self — don’t go. If anyone is to go, let it be I. You 
have someone you love ” 

She was thinking of his saying “ if I were free” 
when he had only meant that he was poor, and he 
started saying sharply: 

“ You, at any rate, have a lover ” — thinking of 
her interview at the Ponds Covert with the motorist, 
as to whose attempt to carry her off she had bound 
him to secrecy. 

Now it was her turn to start, with an 64 1!” of 
surprise. But he did not hear, or hardly heard 
it, for at that moment footsteps were again with- 
out. 

Whoever it might be, the newcomer was no 
longer careful to conceal his movements. Feet were 
swishing freely through the brushwood and with 
them was a sound of something metallic, metal act- 
ing upon metal — like the handle of a tin bucket upon 
the bucket when it is carried. Nor were they long 
left in doubt that a bucket it was, for now they were 
aware of the wash of some liquid dashed against the 
outside of the summer-house. 

Dumb with conjecture and wonder, they sat heark- 

m 


By Force of Circumstances 

ening for what was next to come. Again a long 
time passed, and there was no sound. 

“ He must be gone,” whispered Elinor. 

“ Yes, he came loudly, but stole away,” Arthur 
whispered back. “ I don’t quite see why ? ” 

“ Don’t you know what he dashed upon the sum- 
mer-house ? Oil ! ” 

“ Yes, petrol. I can smell it now.” 

“ He is intending to burn us, if he cannot get us 
any other way, and he came loudly to let us know, so 
that we might have an impulse to run, and he went 
softly, so that we might be uncertain whether he has 
stolen off for more oil, or is lurking near somewhere 
to shoot you, as we run. He wishes to demoralize us 
with uncertainty, that so we may run, and be flurried 
as we run.” 

“ You conclude, then, that he prefers us to 
run ? ” 

“ Yes, for the fire will make a great light which 
may be seen.” 

“ Then, let us stay.” 

Wash! — suddenly, without a warning noise this 
time, oil was dashed upon the summer-house on its 
opposite side. 

After which, for a long time, all was again silence 
— a waiting silence, a straining silence. 

“ Why, it is day outside,” muttered Arthur sud- 
denly. “ There is light in the place. We can see 
each other.” 

“ We have been here far longer than we think — 
200 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

hours,” answered Elinor — “ and it has passed like 
minutes.” 

“ What a night ! ” said he : “ the best night of my 
life!” 

She flinched away from him, suddenly shy. But 
her tongue was tart enough. 

“ Yes, because you haven’t had your skin 
punctured with bullets.” 

“ Quite so,” he answered. “ I have the enjoyment 
of contrast.” 

“ So you are glad you came? ” 

“ I am deeply glad.” 

“We may have to return ; supposing we escape 
now. We haven’t secured the hat. We have seen 
no sign of the invention. Will you come again, if 
I undertake to get all the stray bullet holes ^ in 
me? ” 

“ You make a great deal of those two scratches, 
Miss Hinton. You forget that some of your blood 
has spoiled the cuff of my shirt — look.” 

In an impulse he pressed his lips to the stained 
linen. 

“ No, Arthur, don’t,” she murmured — “ no, 
don’t,” turning her face away. 

“ Then, I won’t,” he said : “ I know well that I am 
an idiot.” 

She sprang up, saying feverishly: “My God! — 
morning: and I a prisoner in this hole. It must be 
broad day outside. What will everybody think of 
me? And why, if the man meant to burn us, did he 
201 


By Force of Circumstances 

not come back? Something must have prevented 
him. Perhaps he is busy, disposing in some way of 
that thing that crouched and had blood on it ! Or 
perhaps he means to starve us — he could keep us in 
this wilderness for weeks, and no one the wiser.” 

44 How can he,” asked Arthur, 44 whoever 4 he ’ 
may be. Did you not say that Inspector Furneaux 
knew that we were coming here ? ” 

44 Yes, that’s true. Only let him delay long 
enough, and Mr. Furneaux will be at him. I believe 
that Furneaux has a wiser mind than Bagot. Hark! 
what’s that ? ” 

Arthur now, too, sprang up, hearing the approach 
of footsteps, of several footsteps, of voices, of 
laughter, and the two stood, close-linked, with won- 
der in their eyes. 

44 Bagot’s voice ! ” growled Arthur. 

Elinor, in high animation, placed her mouth dan- 
gerously near his cheek. 44 And Furneaux’s ! ” she 
cried. 

In another half-minute there was knocking at the 
door, and the voice of Mr. Bagot calling : 44 Miss 
Hinton! Can it be possible that you are inside? 
Here are friends for you!” 

44 Friends, Miss Hinton ! ” added the voice of In- 
spector Furneaux cheerfully. 

Arthur wrung open the door, and when his eyes, 
blinded by daylight, recovered their sight, beheld 
Mr. Bagot, all smiles, Inspector Furneaux, and, in 
the background, a uniformed officer of the police. 

202 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

“What, you, too, Leigh?” cried Mr. Bagot, 
laughing with boisterous good nature — “what, with- 
out boots — well ! ” and he grasped Arthur’s hand 
before the other was aware of his intent. 

“ My good young lady ! ” exclaimed the detective 
blankly, “ however did you manage to get into this 
scrape? ” 

Elinor looked in amazement at Arthur, and Arthur 
at Elinor. But her brain was working fast, and 
she presently observed : “ I came to pay a surprise 
visit to Mr. Bagot. . . . Mr. Leigh came, too.” 

“ Did he, now ? ” said Furneaux, like one lost in 
wonderment; “ and then — what took place? ” 

“ Mr. Bagot, as it turned out,” said Elinor, 
“ wasn’t at home, as we imagined he might, or would 
soon be. So, as we couldn’t get in, rather than miss 
seeing the place, Mr. Leigh climbed a gate, got a 
ladder, and we came in.” 

“ Ah, that’s how it was,” said Mr. Bagot with a 
glance of satisfied curiosity at Inspector Furneaux, 
“ that’s how it was.” 

“Yes!” said Furneaux, “and then — what took 
place ? ” 

“We had no sooner entered the house to look 
through it than some madman began shooting at 
us ” 

“ Precisely as Mr. Bagot has guessed ! ” cried the 
detective — “ a burglar whom you just happened to 
surprise! We have seen the sheets by which you 
climbed down and then — I have it all now ! — you ran 


203 


By Force of Circumstances 

and locked yourselves up in here. Did he follow 
you here? 99 

“ Yes, he threw oil on the summer-house, and was 
going to burn it, and us as well.” 

“ Just at which point I must have arrived on the 
scene — Mr. Bagot and I ! ” broke in Furneaux, “ and 
the rascal made off. Ah, but believe me, Miss Hin- 
ton, I’ll have him yet.” 

“ My good Furneaux, you won’t,” said Bagot, 
turning his bland face upon the inspector. “ Take 
my word for it, this man was no common burglar. 
He knows his way, Furneaux ! ” 

“ Still, Mr. Bagot, still, sir,” said Furneaux with 
a quick jerk of the head, “ I am inclined to think I’ll 
have him yet.” 

“ Tut, man ! you’ll have to eat some more beef 
first.” 

“ Fish is good, too. Splendid food, fish ! ” 

Arthur stood looking from one to the other of the 
three speakers, quite at a loss what was meant. 

“ How did you come to appear on the scene ? ” he 
asked the detective, thinking to add to the by-play 
of words. 

“ Well,” said Furneaux, “ the constable there and 
I happened to be passing this way on a matter of 
business in the early morning, when we came across 
the driver of the motor-car which had brought you 
and Miss Hinton. We learnt from him the fact 
that you were missing. Then, in passing the 
entrance to the estate, we caught sight of a ladder, 
204 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

and thought, 4 Hello, that may mean a burglary,’ 
and in we came, to find Mr. Bagot, who had just ar- 
rived himself, and who welcomed us warmly, seeing 
that he had been finding traces of something odd 
having happened during the night. So you see, Mr. 
Leigh, that’s how it all was.” 

44 Not one word of any of them ever chances to be 
sincere,” thought Arthur, throwing out a peal of 
laughter — 44 all, for some reason, lying, including 
Elinor. Well, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” 

44 These two poor children must be intensely tired 
and hungry,” Mr. Bagot now said. 44 Come, let us 
be off.” 

He moved, they all moved, Elinor walking so as to 
get by the side of Mr. Furneaux; and the moment 
she was with him, she murmured without looking at 
him : 44 1 think there’s a dead body in the house.” 

And if one had looked close, they would have seen 
Inspector Furneaux actually start. 

A minute of silence, of deep reflection, passed, then 
Furneaux was crying aloud : 44 Hello ! what’s this you 
say, Miss — a dead body in the house? ” 

44 Which house? ” asked Mr. Bagot. 

44 Why, that one,” said Elinor quietly, for they 
had now passed through the shrubbery gate, and 
there was the mansion behind trees before them. 

44 Then, by Heaven, Jones,” cried the detective, 
44 the burglar had a mate with him, and Mr. Leigh 
shot him ! ” 

44 Pardon me, Inspector Furneaux,” said Arthur, 
205 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ I had the ill-luck to shoot no one. The man to 
whom Miss Hinton refers was seen by her before I 
had fired any shot.” 

“ And you, too, saw him, Mr. Leigh? ” 

“ 1 saw someone in the momentary light of a 
match ; but whether he was dead or not I cannot say, 
for before I could see we were fired on from behind, 
the match went out, and we ran.” 

“ Still, Mr. Leigh, you did see something — you 
can describe him even a little,” said Fumeaux with a 
certain stress of pleading in his voice which he could 
ill conceal. 

Arthur’s thought was unspoken : “ At last the 
man has uttered something which is sincere.” But 
he said aloud : “ He seemed to be an old man, tall, 
thin, very pallid. He looked as if he was crouching 
to spring at us from a corner, and I have a fancy 
that there was a streak of blood on his face.” 

There was silence now; Inspector Furneaux’s jaw 
ribbed itself at the corner, and shook a little. But 
he had some far-fetched solution for every difficulty. 

“ The burglar, in shooting at you, must have shot 
his own mate ! ” he cried. “ That’s it ! If the man 
was really dead, or dying, as you say — Ah, pity you 
did not get a better view of him ! Mr. Bagot, let us 
take this lady and gentleman with us to show us 
where they made this strange discovery.” 

Bagot, without answer, quickened his step toward 
the house. They all quickened their steps and, hav- 
ing passed in by the front door, Arthur and Elinor 
206 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

walked through the two halls and up the stairs, which 
now in the daylight seemed to them to have quite 
another air and mood than their air of the night and 
the moon. 

Above Arthur put on his shoes, and he and Elinor 
showed the spot where they had seen the man who 
crouched as if to spring, but nothing was there now ; 
and they all marched through the mansion, from tur- 
ret-top to larder, prying into every nook, and the 
sun shone higher and higher, but no trace of any- 
body was found. 

“ Perhaps the red on his face wasn’t blood at all,” 
remarked Furneaux. “ Perhaps his pallor was just 
a natural pallor, and he might have been alive all 
the time ! ” 

“ Oh,” said Mr. Bagot, who led the search, “ he 
may have been really dead, and been buried by his 
mate, the burglar, in the grounds, for there seems to 
have been plenty of time for that. In which case 
traces of the burying will not fail to remain. Let 
the grounds be searched.” 

“ They shall be, Mr. Bagot,” said Inspector Fur- 
neaux, “ though that will be a long job, and as for 
poor Miss Hinton and Mr. Leigh, who must be 
nearly dead with fatigue, we had better be sending 
them home.” 

“ Of course, we must,” agreed Bagot. “ But first 
I am going to cook you all, on a spirit-stove, some 
coffee and breakfast, as I have sometimes done for 
myself when I have slept here. I am a fine cook, 
207 


By Force of Circumstances 

I can tell you, and you will see it all done by 
magic.” 

44 Do not trouble for me, Mr. Bagot, pray,” said 
Elinor : 44 Mr. Leigh and I are not so exhausted as 
you may think, especially as we came so triumphantly 
through all the rain of futile bullets ” — for she had 
been too proud to admit that she had been hit, and 
her light motor coat concealed the blood on her 
blouse and bandaged arm. 

46 1 seem more and more to remember,” she went 
on, 44 that I received the undoubted impression that 
the man was really dead. I am sure he was. The 
double trail which Mr. Leigh found outside was due 
to his feet having been dragged through the grass 
and bush.” 

44 That may quite well be so,” concurred Bagot 
instantly. 44 Let us, then, next examine this trail. 
Meanwhile, Furneaux, you won’t mind lending me 
the constable to send a telegram to Mr. Hinton, who 
must be crazy with anxiety at his daughter’s absence. 
I am afraid that you have been found out by now, 
my good Elinor.” 

44 1 am afraid I have,” said Elinor, 44 but maybe 
it will be guessed that I am with you, and then there 
will be no anxiety” — and Inspector Furneaux looked 
from one to the other with a light in his eye which 
meant admiration for both. 

44 You may send the constable with pleasure, sir,” 
he said. 

(( Then just run, Jones, to the village,” said Bagot, 
208 


Disappearance of Mr . Churchill 

who ordered His Majesty’s officers about with the 
familiarity of a Chief Commissioner, 44 and send a 
message to Hinton, Yacht Mishe Nahma , just say- 
ing: 4 Elinor safe in my hands, Bagot ’ — that’s all;” 
and he handed a shilling to the constable, who saluted 
and hurried away. 

And now, Arthur leading, the party of four went 
out to the trail, which was so broken, and vague in 
the dew-laden grass that only a tracker’s eye might 
have taken cognizance of it at all. However, when 
it was once indicated, there it was plain enough ; and 
Furneaux, Bagot, and Arthur, in their interest, bent 
hither and thither, Furneaux now with a magnifying 
glass at his eye, staring intensely at every sign, while 
silence reigned, Bagot anon pointing to something 
new, anon Arthur pointing. Elinor, with her veil 
lowered, followed too, while they pursued the trail 
from the house-front a good way into a shrubbery. 
And all at once, Arthur, who was ahead of the others, 
called out: 

44 Hello ! here’s something.” 

Like lightning Furneaux was at his side. 

44 Let me see,” he snapped, and had the thing in 
his hand a second before Mr. Bagot, too, was at it. 

In a few seconds all were bending over it — an 
envelope that had been opened, directed to 44 John 
Churchill, Esq.” A slip of paper in it was found 
to be an account of the Gas Light and Coke Com- 
pany for a quarter’s gas consumed in a house in 
Highgate, London. 


209 


By Force of Circumstances 

It was Bagot who broke the long silence. 

“ This is very strange,” was his curiously com- 
monplace remark. 

No one answered. Inspector Fumeaux stood 
tight-lipped, glancing curiously from the speaker to 
the open bill. 

Bagot was eager to voice his theories. 

“ This, however, is probably without any kind of 
connection with the trail which we are following,” 
he said. “ You notice that it is directed to 4 John 
Churchill.’ Well, as far back as six weeks ago, a 
Mr. John Churchill actually spent two days in this 
place with me, and may possibly then have dropped 
the envelope.” 

“ Was that the Mr. John Churchill of Dix and 
Churchill? ” asked the detective. 

“ The same,” said Bagot, after a pause that was 
barely perceptible. 

Arthur listened with all his ears. Dix, he knew, 
was dead — was Churchill dead, too? 

“ And you say, sir,” asked Furneaux, almost 
deferentially, “ that that was some six weeks 
ago? ” 

Mr. Bagot pondered it, glancing forward to see 
the date on the bill; but now Furneaux was folding 
it leisurely up. 

“ I cannot be sure of the date offhand,” mused 
Bagot aloud. “ It may have been a good deal less — 
not more. But I can easily look it up, if you 
desire.” 


210 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

Furneaux put the bill into his pocket, and they 
continued to follow the trail till they came, through 
the shrubbery, to an open grass space, which in one 
spot was much crushed and trampled, the marl 
greatly bruised by the weight, it appeared, of some 
mass. On one low oak leaf, discovered by the detect- 
ive, was a spot that looked like a drop of blood. 
Something heavy, too, had been dragged through 
the bush northward, at right angles to the direction 
in which the body, if it was a body, was conveyed. 
Presently there was observed a third trail, as to 
which Elinor, standing near Inspector Furneaux, 
heard him murmur to himself as his eyes first fell 
upon it: 

“ The barley-field snake again ! ” 

For, wriggling through the grass from the south- 
west, over a distance of, perhaps, forty yards, this 
third trail reached the trampled region with a 
perfect suggestion of some enormous serpent having 
wormed its way to strike down the victim, exactly as 
in the case of Mr. Dix on the barge; and no word 
was spoken while the four pairs of eyes bent their 
scrutiny upon it. 

The two second trails were tracked carefully to 
the ends, where they suddenly ceased. Then along 
the first, or forked, trail they slowly paced back to 
the house-front, still bent down, gazing at the 
mystery, so visible there, yet so voiceless. 

Arthur was now the hindermost of the men, 
Elinor behind him ; and, all at once, as he stooped, 


211 


By Force of Circumstances 

looking, his hat fell off — unaccountably, for he was 
not stooping so very deeply; so he glanced behind, 
to see if by chance Elinor had touched his hat. As 
he glanced, stopping, she was on the hat, and with 
two stamps had it crushed out of shape, looking up 
into his face the while with a mocking haughtiness, 
her eyes speaking defiance to him quizzingly, with 
her lips pressed together. He was completely at a 
loss to understand this massacre of an innocent hat, 
but she put a finger on her lips, and then very 
adroitly, swiftly, shot at him the words : 44 Borrow a 
hat!” 

44 Artful beggars they all are ! ” thought Arthur, 
44 she especially, dangerous, cunning, sly to the 
heart, and the undoing of a man.” 

Nevertheless he called out what had happened, and 
the others stopped and looked around. 

44 Oh, forgive me for being so awkward ! ” pouted 
Elinor with heartfelt regret. 

44 You can have my hat, I’m sure, and wel- 
come, Mr. Leigh,” said Inspector Furneaux at 
once. 

44 Yes, among the liars, you are always an easy 
4 first among equals,’ ” Arthur thought, but he 
only said: 

44 No, I can’t of course deprive you of your hat, 
Inspector. Couldn’t you lend me something in that 
line, Mr. BagotP ” 

44 My dear fellow, I doubt if I have such a thing 
in ” Mr. Bagot began. 


212 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

44 Oh, yes, you have,” cried Elinor, 64 1 think I saw 
one just now in a room — stay, 1 am the hat-killer — 
I’ll just run ” 

And before anything more could be said, she had 
taken to her heels into the now near house, and was 
gone. Nor could any power of wit or will have 
stopped her, the despotism of politeness and conven- 
tion being as resistless as any other, for though 
Arthur could very well have gone home without any 
hat at all, Mr. Bagot, if he wished to say so, could 
no more have said it than the dumb can break the 
bonds of their silence. 

In two minutes Elinor was tripping back out, 
twirling a hat round and round on her hand like a 
flag of victory, crying, 44 Here it is ! ” She came 
near to Arthur. 44 Pray, let me, Mr. Leigh,” and 
she put it on herself — on and on, lower and lower by 
degrees, till it was down over Arthur’s ears, over his 
brows, over his neck behind; and, as Elinor said, 
44 There! — a fit,” everyone broke out laughing, Mr. 
Bagot pointing with a grimace of buffoonery, cry- 
ing : 44 Nice sight ! nice sight ! ” and he and Furneaux 
looked at one another, and giggled together in 
perfect amity. 

Just then the constable who had been sent with the 
telegram was seen coming back, and Furneaux said 
to Bagot: 

44 Now, as to searching the place further, sir, in 
order to find something definite — if the constable 

and I may start to go over it thoroughly ” 

213 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 By all means,” said Mr. Bagot, 64 I’ll come with 
you myself ; only I must warn you that the big shed 
you can see the roof of over yonder is privileged. It 
contains the plan of an invention which is not 
patented, and I should hardly feel quite easy to have 
it stared at ” 

44 But suppose that’s just the place the burglar 
has used, sir, to conceal ” 

44 Impossible, man, unless he has burst open the 
doors,” cried Bagot testily. 44 It is hermetically 
locked up with cipher-locks, which you will find all 
safe and sound. But since such a thought has 
entered your mind, I don’t mind, say, Constable 
Jones going in and having a thorough search, for 
that will be quite effective for the search of a body, 
while, as to my invention, I am perfectly sure that he 
will stare at it for a year, and make neither head nor 
tail of it. But I can’t have a bird of your feather, 
Furneaux, ferreting among my work ” 

44 Agreed, sir — that’s only fair,” said the detective, 
who seemed to be oddly unwilling to thwart Bagot in 
the slightest degree. 44 Jones, let it be.” 

44 Meanwhile, I shall have the honor to take back 
Miss Hinton to her yacht,” said Arthur. 

44 Good,” said Bagot; dropping his voice, he drew 
Arthur a little apart. 44 Are you going to be off? ” 
he asked. 44 This is the inquest day. . . .” 

44 1 am not decided : I have thought of it.” 

44 Have you put the matter of the lease in the 
hands of Mowle and Mowle, your lawyers? ” 

214 


Disappearance of Mr. Churchill 

“ I haven’t had time ! I was about it last night 
when I was stopped.” 

“Leigh, there is need for haste!” 

“ I’ll see to it.” 

And they parted, Arthur walking towards the 
gate with Elinor, Mr. Bagot going off to the shed 
with Fumeaux and the constable. 

It was broad daylight, and the sun’s rays were 
already hot. They passed through the gate, open 
now, which they had climbed during the night, came 
upon their chauffeur fast asleep by the roadside on 
his seat, and had soon set off on the sixteen-mile trip 
of the night before. They were in full career when, 
in passing through a townlet, Elinor’s eye was at- 
tracted by a row of placards before a paper-shop. 
She called a halt, and together in silence the two 
stared at the words, fresh from the Bristol press: 
“ Strange Disappearance of a City Man ” ; and 
again on another : “ Another Mystery of a Mer- 
chant”; and on a third: “Mr. Churchill follows 
Mr. Dix!” 


215 


CHAPTER XI 


TRAPPED ! 

Both were stiff and tired, and Elinor’s arm was 
sore from its wound. They felt quite unromantic, 
and their wits were too weary to puzzle out all they 
had gone through. 

44 Don’t come any farther, Mr. Leigh,” Elinor said, 
when the car neared the private road to the Abbey 
on the way to Burnham. 

He bent toward her, paused in what he had on his 
tongue to say, but finally said it. 

44 It was 4 Arthur ’ — once — last night.” 

44 You ! ” said she. 44 Really, Mr. Leigh, you are 
sometimes fanciful.” 

44 You never said that — in the summer-house!” 

44 1 scarce know what I said at a time when I was 
nearly hysterical with fear and pain.” 

44 Oh, well, let it pass. What can it matter? ” 

44 What, indeed? A mere slip, if ever it happened. 
And so — good-by, for I am sure that you are dying 
with sleep. Just one parting question — are you still 
intending, after what we experienced last night and 
this morning, to grant the lease of your house to Mr. 
Bagot? ” 


216 


Trapped! 

White and wan as she was, he was minded to tease 
her. 

“ As far as I know, I think so,” he said. 44 I have 
seen no reason in Mr. Bagot’s behavior to cause me to 
be inclined to break my undertaking to him.” 

“ All right, Mr. Leigh : but, if I was your sister — 
ah, I do think that sometimes you would benefit by a 
piece of my mind.” 

44 And if you were my wife, I’d break you in like — 
like a skittish little filly that trembles when it spies 
a man in leggings.” 

44 4 If,’ you say — that is the largest sort of con- 
ditional.” 

44 Well, you are right there.” 

She looked to be offended, and justly so, but yet 
she had not done with him. 

44 By the way, bear in mind that I may have to 
write you urgently, when I have again seen Inspector 
Furneaux,” she said. 44 Of course I had no chance to 
speak to him alone after the happenings of last night, 
but when I do, I think I can foresee that you and I 
may have to meet and act in a hurry.” 

Arthur was still pleased to be ironical. 

44 Your servant, I’m sure!” he growled, 44 though 
what possible connection there can be between Miss 
Elinor Hinton and this absolutely asinine detect- 
ive ” 

44 Don’t let it trouble you, Mr. Leigh,” she said 
coldly, putting out her hand. 44 The day may come 
when you will know. Only pray remember, mean- 
217 


By Force of Circumstances 

while, what I have told you, that Mr. Furneaux wishes 
well to me — and you.” 

“One follows from the other, does it not?” he 
asked, smiling. “ At any rate, I can quite believe 
the first half, without an ounce of faith in the 
second. . . . Good-by, good-by ! ” 

He stood on the road looking after her, as she was 
carried away. Once, as she was about to vanish, 
she turned round, seeming to expect to find him still 
standing there. She tilted Mr. Bagot’s hat to him, 
like a man taking off his hat to a lady, and when the 
last of her dust-cloud had died out, he went up to the 
Abbey to sleep. 

He was encountered by Jenkins with very round 
and solemn eyes, not so much because Jenkins was 
aware of his master’s unaccountable absence as be- 
cause he had in his hand a letter which, late the 
previous night, had been brought by a policeman. 
Contact with the legal arm of the King always 
wrought in J enkins a definite bathos. 

Arthur tore open the letter, as Jenkins hurried off 
for coffee. 

“ The inquest, as you know, is not till two. So 
you have plenty of time before it to take the advice 
of a friend who knows, and run. Do it. You will 
not be unduly tracked and hunted. Run, till things 
clear.” 

There was no signature, but underneath, rudely 
drawn, was the face of a man holding a cigar at his 
nose — and the natural guess was — Furneaux. 

218 


Trapped! 

Arthur, though really amazed, was too much in- 
terested in coffee at the moment to weigh the note 
well. Even as he drank the coffee, his eyes had a 
tendency to close. He was soon asleep in his clothes, 
and slept exactly the three hours that he had 
prescribed to himself beforehand. It was a trick 
acquired on the veldt, and he had not forgotten it. 

Then he sat up to study the man with the cigar. 
From whcm but from Fumeaux? He called Jenkins 
to him again to ask him if he was sure that it was a 
constable who had brought it. Jenkins thought he 
was sure. Though the man was not in uniform he 
said he was a policeman. And it now occurred to 
Arthur that Furneaux might, in truth, be a friend — 
that all those hints of accusations, those veiled 
charges, which the detective had heaped upon him, 
might only have been in order to terrify him into 
flight, which flight for some reason or other Furneaux 
desired. And now, when Furneaux saw that Arthur 
did not fly, he had gone a step farther, and had sent 
Arthur the hint in this way, having an instinct all 
the time — perhaps a knowledge — that Arthur was 
innocent P 

And Mr. Bagot, too, in the first hours of their 
acquaintance had wished the same, had impressed 
upon Arthur that he must fly. . . . Both strong- 
sighted men of the world, looking at the matter from 
different standpoints probably; both urged flight. 
Certainly it was a puzzle. 

Of course, he was not fool enough to retain his 
219 


By Force of Circumstances 

confidence in Bagot after the events of the preceding 
twelve hours. Something more than a mere doubt 
had arisen in him as to that bland face and persuasive 
being. There were things hard to explain, though 
his simple-minded judgment refused to admit that 
Bagot had really meant to murder both Elinor and 
himself. Nevertheless, the fact that Bagot coun- 
seled flight would certainly prove rather a deterrent 
now than otherwise. But Furneaux counseled it, 
too! If Furneaux was a friend, then, Bagot was a 
friend, and if Bagot a friend, then Furneaux was 
equally a friend, since both advised the same thing. 

How if both were enemies, and so meant to ruin 
him? Arthur saw that, if he once ran, he tenfold 
incriminated himself ! . . . 

On the whole, however, he inclined to the decision 
that the letter was friendly. It had been brought 
by a constable; Elinor had twice assured him that 
Furneaux was acting for, not against, him. He 
trusted Elinor, her head, that is, but not the rest of 
her. Oddly enough, Elinor was even more emphatic 
in her assurance that Bagot was an enemy. Would 
Bagot, the enemy, counsel the same thing as Fur- 
neaux, the friend? They seemed to the plain soldier 
to be a mixed and intricate crew. He set his teeth. 

“ By Jove ! ” he vowed, “ if we all lived a couple 
of centuries earlier, I’d strap the girl behind me on a 
horse, and be off with her ! ” 

His own impulse, meanwhile, was to get out of it, 
out of all the misery and frustration left him by his 
220 


Trapped! 

grandfather, the imbroglio of that barge-business, 
the mystery, the bitter after-taste of that sight in the 
Ponds Covert when a man’s hand rested on Elinor 
Hinton’s shoulder, and she gazed tamely up into the 
man’s face. The memory of it invariably mad- 
dened him. For a while he bit his mustache in a 
rage, until, to his real perplexity, he found himself 
dwelling rather on the remembrance of those long 
embraces during the deadly duel of the night, of Eli- 
nor’s agitation when he kissed the stain on his wrist- 
band, of his own arm thrown around her neck and 
shoulders. 

Foolish youth, he pressed the linen again to his lips, 
and forthwith achieved a mighty resolution. Per- 
haps she was yet to be wooed and won. Why should 
he not try? Would that other man have carried her 
so safely through the dark fury of the fight at “ Niel- 
pahar.” To the devil, then, with mysterious motorists, 
and moonlit coverts, and all the witchcraft and chi- 
canery that had beset him while he was letting slip the 
opportunity of winning the one woman he would ever 
love. When she wanted help, to whom did she come? 
Had she not said, even in the teeth of his bitter 
humor, that she might need him again? Oh, crass 
and blind that he should have so spurned her ! It 
was not that he made up his mind to unbend and be 
penitent, but rather that he was possessed of a sick- 
ening fear that she might never forgive him. The 
thought soon became a torture. To end it, he must 
hie to Burnham and the yacht Mishe Nahma ! 

221 


By Force of Circumstances 

True, the King had ordered him to be at a certain 
inquest at two o’clock, but then, Furneaux, who knew 
a good deal more about the matter than the King, 
advised him to stop away. 

It struck him that it would be rather subtle if he 
avoided the inquest, and gave the impression of flight 
without actually flying. How surprised everybody 
would be when they discovered him calmly occupying 
the Abbey again that evening! Being of the most 
open and honest nature, he chortled over this master- 
stroke of guile, though its genesis lay solely in the 
fact that he now had an excuse for visiting Elinor. 

A bath and change of clothing helped in the process 
of rejuvenation. He was soon on the way to Burn- 
ham, whistling as he went, to keep his courage up, 
and thereby causing much surprise to a man who lay 
patiently beneath the heavy coverlet of the trees ex- 
actly opposite the road leading to the Abbey. This 
watcher took no risks. He waited until Leigh’s tall 
figure had swung out of sight. Then, with infinite 
pains to avoid observation, the stranger drew a 
bicycle from the brushwood, mounted, and rode off in 
the direction of Bridgewater. 

Leigh’s long strides made light of the few miles to 
Burnham. The Mishe Nahma had steam up, but she 
occupied the same anchorage, and ten minutes in a 
boat brought him alongside. 

“Miss Hinton aboard?” he asked, when a stolid 
sailor looked down at him from the yacht’s gangway. 

“ I’ll see, sir,” said the man, who had evidently 
222 


Trapped ! 

been trained in the 44 manners and rules of good 
society.” 

He did not return. A smart maid came instead. 

44 Miss Hinton is not at home, sir,” she smirked. 

Leigh’s heart gave a great bound. Was this the 
beginning of the end for him? 

44 Not at home? Do you mean that she is not on 
board the yacht ? ” 

The maid did not expect to be cross-questioned. 
She grew pert. 

44 When a gentleman is told that a lady is not at 
home that is usually sufficient, sir,” she replied. 

“ But it is quite insufficient when the lady per- 
haps wishes to see the gentleman, and she is not 
told that he is asking for her. Please tell Miss 
Hinton ” 

44 My mistress is asleep and must not be dis- 
turbed.” 

44 Ah!” 

Leigh smiled at the girl, and his smile was frank 
enough to disarm her wrath. 

44 Is Mr. Hinton on board?” 

44 It was Mr. Hinton, sir, who told me to give you 
that message.” 

A memory of Elinor’s half confidence that she 
feared her father was in Bagot’s power flashed 
through Arthur’s mind. Hinton had been so agree- 
able a host during the dinner party that he certainly 
would not have sent so curt a dismissal to one of his 
guests who paid a call subsequently. What had hap- 
223 


By Force of Circumstances 

pened in the meantime to raise his bile? Assuredly 
Bagot’s influence was far-reaching, though its mag- 
netism was gone where Leigh was concerned. 

But he must think, and act quickly. He dived a 
hand into his pocket, and gave the girl a sovereign. 

66 What time will Miss Hinton be called ? ” he 
asked. 

“ At one o’clock, sir,” said she, dropping her voice. 

“ I shall return at half-past one. Will you tell 
her that? 99 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ Her only? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

Away went the boat. Out of the tail of his eye 
Leigh was conscious of a face watching him grimly 
from a window of a deck saloon. It was Elinor’s 
f ather, and he seemed to be in a very sour temper. 

The hour was not yet noon. When Arthur landed 
again at the little quay he strolled among the few 
villas and cottages that constitute remote Burnham. 
His wits were keen and at work. The fight of twelve 
hours ago had done him a world of good. In this 
new clarity of mind he began to recast his views of 
Furneaux. It now seemed to him that the little Jer- 
sey man was a positive genius, a sprite of immense 
intelligence who was matching his small bright brain 
against the big, almost superhuman one of giant 
Bagot. In most affairs of life the contest would be 
unequal, but Leigh knew what a tremendous differ- 
ence it makes if the majesty of the law is arrayed on 
224 


Trapped! 

the one side and naught but a criminal intent sup- 
ports the other. 

Suddenly he decided to carry out a bit of detective- 
work on his own account. Passing by a church, he 
found the door open. He went in. The place was 
empty. The key was in the lock of a small door lead- 
ing to the belfry stairs. He took out the key, for 
fear of accident, climbed the stairs, ensconced himself 
among the bells behind the lattice-work through 
which their solemnities floated forth over the Somer- 
set coast, and set himself to watch the comings and 
goings of people interested in the Mishe Nahma. 

A boat went off from the shore occasionally, and 
parcels were delivered at the yacht’s gangway, but 
these visitors were obviously local tradesmen. No one 
left the yacht. Arthur watched for three-quarters 
of an hour, and was thinking of descending from his 
lofty perch, when a man dashed through Burnham 
on a bicycle, almost leaped from his machine straight 
into a wherry, and was taken in hot haste to the 
Mishe Nahma. 

Luckily, Arthur’s eyesight was excellent, and he 
was able to see that the newcomer was met by Hinton 
in person. There was some talk, Hinton stepped into 
the boat, came ashore with the bicyclist, looked about, 
made an inquiry or two from shore loungers, found 
the boatman who had piloted Leigh himself, and 
asked something that caused the man to point to the 
town. 

“ By Jove ! ” whistled Arthur, “ I am in demand. 

225 


By Force of Circumstances 

But who on earth is the bicyclist Johnnie? I’ve never 
set eyes on him before. Can it be that beastly inquest 
that is pursuing me here? 99 

Still he hurried down and into the street. Turn- 
ing a corner, he appeared on the promenade, and 
was seen. Instantly the iron-master waved to him, 
and it was quite noticeable that the fast-pedaling 
messenger faded away into the unknown. 

44 Queer ! ” communed Arthur. 44 At any rate, he 
doesn’t want me ! 99 

Hinton approached rapidly, with outstretched 
hand. 

44 My dear fellow,” he cried, 44 those fools of serv- 
ants of mine have only just told me you called at the 
yacht some time since. The idiots ! I hurried on 
shore at once, in the forlorn hope that I might come 
across you. What luck ! 99 

44 What a liar ! ” thought Leigh. 

But beyond this path of lies lay Elinor, and his 
new-born resolution was strong in him. 

64 I really meant to call again,” he said with as 
pleasant a smile as he could summon to his aid. 

44 Of course you did. Now that is a nice thing to 
say. It shows you harbor no offense. We won’t 
waste time signaling for the gig. What if we take 
this old tub that I jumped into just because it 
chanced to be alongside? ” 

44 Marvelous ! ” said Arthur to himself. To Hin- 
ton he said : 44 Delighted ! ” 

Crossing the tiny bay they discussed the weather, 
226 


Trapped! 

the yacht, the scenery, anything but the two topics 
that might reasonably have suggested themselves, 
for Arthur knew that Hinton was aware of his daugh- 
ter’s all-night escapade, through Bagot’s telegram 
if by no other means, and he was equally sure that 
the ironmaster’s change of attitude arose from some- 
thing said by the mysterious rider of the bicycle. 

On board the yacht he was pressed to have a cock- 
tail and cigarette before lunch was served. He took 
neither. A young man who discovers that he is over 
head and ears in love with a young woman soon learns 
to be careful in these small details. 

At last Elinor’s swish of silk was heard. She was 
hurried and flurried. Arthur guessed that the maid 
had only just told her of his arrival. 

“ You ought to be at the inquest,” she began. 

“ Well, you see I am not.” 

“ But why ? ” 

“ I have a reason.” 

“ What? ” 

“ I was advised to keep away.” 

“ Advised! By whom? ” 

“ Elinor, my dear,” broke in her father, “ Mr. 
Leigh naturally prefers to lunch with us. It is a 
fine day, hot enough even here. What must it be in a 
stuffy ” 

The girl was not to be driven aside by convention. 

“ Please tell me — who advised it ? ” she cried. 

Leigh, though beginning to know her ways, was 
certainly taken aback by this directness. It was so 
227 


By Force of Circumstances 

utterly opposed to the tender scene he had rehearsed 
with his soul during the walk from the Abbey and 
while he kept vigil in the church-tower ! 

44 Well, if you must have it,” he said, 44 my friend, 
Furneaux.” 

He emphasized the word 44 friend.” He fancied 
that Elinor might thus find a clue to his altered 
feelings. 

But her fine eyes only blazed at him. 

44 Mr. Furneaux advised that ! ” she cried. 44 Surely 
there is some mistake! Why, your absence tends to 
incriminate you. . . . What have you done? 

Are you sure he told you that? When did you see 
him?” 

44 1 did not see him. He wrote to me. Here is his 
letter? ” 

Arthur produced the cryptic document signed with 
a sketch. She gave it one glance. 

44 He never wrote that ! ” she said indignantly. 

44 Oh, I think so.” 

She did not fail to catch the momentary reversion 
to his old stubbornness. 

44 How provoking you are, Mr. Leigh ! ” she cried. 
44 Inspector Furneaux would not send you an im- 
portant communication in that style. This is not his 
handwriting. Really, how easy it is to humbug you.” 

44 Elinor ! ” protested Mr. Hinton again. 

44 But I mean it. Mr. Leigh must attend. What 
time is it ? ” 

Arthur swallowed something. Instead of the colt 
228 


Trapped! 

driving the filly, here was the filly driving the colt ! 
But he was loyal to his pact with himself, and with a 
strange humility he said : 

“ Please let me explain, Miss Hinton. I really do 
believe Mr. Furneaux would be pleased if I failed to 
put in an appearance to-day. I don’t know much 
about these things, but I suppose I am a most im- 
portant witness. With me away, the inquiry cannot 
proceed. There must be an adjournment, and that 
will be a good excuse. Don’t you see? Furneaux 
may want more time — and less revelations.” 

Elinor’s eyes narrowed. She seemed to discover 
some new and strange element in Arthur’s composi- 
tion. She blushed a little, and laughed. 

“ Oh, well,” she murmured, and the storm sub- 
sided. 

Hinton, protesting good-humoredly that really 
Elinor was mixing herself up in matters that in no 
way concerned her, suggested that the yacht should 
cruise for an hour during luncheon. There would be 
air in the saloon, then, and the cabins were terribly 
hot. Elinor was not favorable to the notion, but her 
father insisted. Leigh, of course, said nothing; he 
was content to await developments. 

A perfect meal was served. Bagot’s name was 
never mentioned, though Elinor’s bandaged arm was 
eloquent of Bagot. Hinton was most cordial and 
friendly. He carried his bonhomie to the limit of 
rising before the coffee appeared. 

“ I’ll just go and finish some letters,” he said, “ and 
229 


By Force of Circumstances 

tell the skipper to bring us to Burnham by three 
o’clock. You young people can entertain each other 
till then. Will that suit you, Leigh? ” 

Arthur was rendered nearly incoherent by grati- 
tude. What a brick the man was! 

Elinor favored her father with a quick glance of 
surprise, but he was busy lighting a cigar. That 
done, he took himself off. 

“ I have another reason for missing the inquest,” 
began Arthur. 

Elinor was peeling an apple. 

46 If you don’t care for any fruit, you may smoke,” 
she said. 

44 Please don’t make my confession hard for me,” he 
said. 

44 Confession ! What further mischief have you 
been guilty of? ” 

44 1 only want to tell you what a fool I have been.” 

He paused. Elinor said nothing. Then he blushed, 
and desperation egged him on. 

44 Can we take up our lives just where they ended in 
the summer-house? ” he continued. 

44 What do you mean ? ” she cried. 44 Lives ! 
Ended!” 

44 I mean this ... I know now that I was 
favored beyond all other men last night. Blind that 
I was ” 

44 You really do not deserve the nasty things you 
are saying about yourself. You were most good and 
brave while we were in that dreadful place. I hope 
230 


Trapped! 

the girl you are going to marry is not of a jealous 
disposition, because I mean to tell her, some day, what 
a chivalrous husband she possesses.” 

“ Be as sarcastic as you like, but do listen.” 

“ Pray, who is being sarcastic? ” 

“You . . . Elinor. Why should you imagine 
yourself singing my praises to yourself? ” 

She lifted her left shoulder in that quizzical Span- 
ish way of hers, yet she did not seem to resent the inti- 
mate use of her name. 

“We are at loggerheads, quite,” she said. “ Let 
us talk about Inspector Furneaux. Has it never 

seemed strange to you ” 

“For a fool, I am a persistent one,” he growled. 
“ I am tired of misunderstandings. This time I 
mean to make myself clear, and I want to tell you, 
Elinor, that you are the only woman I have ever 
loved, or ever shall love, or shall ever want to love. 
You came into my life at an hour when all else was 
desperate, but the sun lights up deserts as well as 
the fair places of earth, and you have shone on my 
desert until my very soul aches for you. I don’t care 
now whether you are rich or poor, or whether any 
other man has a prior claim on you. I did care yes- 
terday, last night, this morning, but the divine 
knowledge has come to me that I would sooner die than 
be parted from you. Elinor, don’t send me away! ” 
He had risen in his tense excitement and was lean- 
ing over her. After the first flash of wonder had 
passed from her face, she cast down her eyes, her head 
231 


By Force of Circumstances 

bent lower and lower, and her hands involuntarily 
crept up to shield her burning cheeks. Suddenly she 
burst into tears, and that maddened him. 

44 Oh, don’t cry, Elinor ! I cannot bear that ! If 
what I have said is painful to you, well, tell me to go, 
and you will never see me again. . . . But don’t 
cry ! ” 

“No, not that!” she murmured between her 
sobs. . . . 44 I — I — what am I to say? . . . Please, 
please, come to me — some other time.” 

Suddenly she sprang from the chair and raced 
to a window. It happened to be on the seaward 
side. 

44 I wonder what sort of towns those in South 
Wales are,” she said in a quite natural tone. 44 We 
have never crossed the Channel. Mr. Bagot says that 
Cardiff and Newport are drab places, all coal-stained. 
You can leave the coffee and the liqueurs, Martin. 
Mr. Leigh will help himself.” 

The silent-footed man servant, whose unnoted ap- 
pearance had caused Arthur to think that Elinor had 
lost her senses, vanished again. The girl quitted 
the window. She had seen nothing. Her eyes were 
glistening. She came near, delightfully shy. She 
put her hands on his shoulders. 

44 Now . . . just once! ” she whispered, and their 
lips met. 

44 No, I said 4 once,”’ she protested, springing away 
like a coy wood nymph. 44 You silly Arthur ! There 
is glass on every side. Please sit over there, and 
232 


Trapped! 

smoke, and drink coffee, and talk about anything 
but me.” 

“ Then I must either be dumb or babble in de- 
lirium,” he cried, his every nerve tingling with a 
frenzy of delight. 

“ You will kindly be sensible. I have such a lot to 
tell you, now. But first answer me this — why did 
you say 6 If I were free,’ and drive me away from 
you? ” 

“ Because I felt myself tied by poverty. I am 
poor in money — a few hundred pounds all told — but 
I am the richest man in the world, too, because I 
love ” 

“ Not another word. I shall ring for Martin. 
But you are not so poor. You own that estate. 
Many men would count that wealth.” 

“ I fear, my beloved, you have not exactly under- 
stood the effect of my grandfather’s will.” 

“ I think I have. Do not forget that my friend, 
Mrs. Bates, will find the money to pay off the mort- 
gage — that is, if it be necessary.” 

“ But how ” 

“ Has it never occurred to you that Mr. Bagot is 
the greatest living mesmerist ? He can control almost 
anybody. My father is absolutely in his power. My 
unhappy half-brother, who has caused us trouble 
enough already, is wholly his dupe. It was at 
Bagot’s bidding that he strove to kidnap me ” 

66 Your brother — was he the motorist ? ” 

“ Yes. I could hardly tell you at first, could I? ” 
233 


By Force of Circumstances 

Arthur leaped up, and she was in his arms again 
before she could protest. 

44 Oh, my love, my love,” he said, 44 how cruelly have 
I deceived myself ! ” 

44 I shall shriek for help if you don’t sit down,” she 
cried, though she lay passive enough in his embrace. 
44 Yet one wonders wherein you were deceived,” she 
added. 

44 Bagot, the detestable, led me to the Ponds Covert, 
where I saw you meet the man whose arm I nearly 
wrenched from its socket.” 

44 You — spied — on me! ” 

44 No, Heaven knows I did not. Rather did I run 
the instant I saw who it was. Bagot brought me 
there — made up some plausible reason — boasted of 
his superior hearing or something of the sort. I was 
frantic, carried out of myself. That night I prom- 
ised to lease the Abbey to him.” 

44 And Harry urged me to meet him, vowing on his 
honor not to attempt any stupid abduction, so I went, 
and found him, as I thought, almost ready to leave 
Bagot. Ah ! what a plotter the man is ! He in- 
vented the explanation so as to quiet my suspicions. 
Well, it is a point to him, but I have scored many 
more. Now, you really must go to the other side of 
the table.” 

44 Ring for Martin, and let me gag and blindfold 
him.” 

44 Oh, dear, dear, and we have so much to say ! 
Bagot, then, can bend most minds to his will. Few 
234 . 


Trapped! 

people escape. The Bateses are immune, owing 
solely to their stolidness. I should have fallen be- 
neath the spell long since were it not that — that there 
is an aversion of the body that is stronger than the 
affinity of the mind. But you, you were an easy vic- 
tim. I couldn’t drag you from him. Did you not 
always feel a sense of confidence when he was present, 
and a positive dis-ease when he left you? ” 

44 Rank lunacy I call it,” broke in Arthur. 

44 Yet I am surprised you never tried to find out 
why Inspector Furneaux should be in Somerset- 
shire? ” 

44 He is a detective, and this horrid barge 
affair ” 

44 That is a matter for the local police. He was 
sent for by me. I want to rescue my father and 
brother. It was the merest accident that he was pres- 
ent when that crime was committed, but now he at- 
tends to nothing else, because he is sure, and I agree 
with him, that it holds the key to all that has gone 
before.” 

44 But Bagot didn’t kill the man ? ” 

44 How do you know ? ” 

44 Furneaux himself admits that Bagot was in 
Chepstow, over there in Monmouthshire, at the very 
time the murder was committed.” 

44 Bagot has a long arm.” 

44 You mean he has accomplices? ” 

The word was out before he realized its scope, 
but Elinor did not flinch. 


235 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 No matter who suffers ultimately, Bagot must be 
stopped,” she said imperiously. 44 The man is a 
blight, a curse.” 

44 He certainly bewitched me,” said Arthur, trying 
eagerly to take her mind off his unhappy slip. 44 Do 
you know, on the night after our luncheon-party, I 
was lying in bed awake when I heard noises. I got 
up, made a somewhat nerve-trying search, and I actu- 
ally believed that I saw my grandfather and you, 
hand in hand, walking down the laurel path between 
the lawns and the orchard.” 

Elinor laughed, and the music of her laughter was 
good to hear. 

44 That was rather a mad trick,” she cried, 44 but I 
am addicted to pranks, and Mr. Furneaux is posi- 
tively a mischievous urchin in such things. It was 
his idea to masquerade as old Mr. Rollaston Leigh. 
He said you would hardly shoot your grandfather’s 
ghost. You actually watched him while he was 
noting details from the portrait.” 

44 1 am still in the dark. What in the world were 
you and Furneaux doing in the Abbey grounds at 
that hour? And you were in the house, too. I 
heard you.” 

44 We were searching the secret passage.” 

44 The— what? ” 

44 The passage that leads through the old wall and 
under the Abbot’s Port to the mound.” 

Leigh looked so genuinely amazed that Elinor 
looked amazed, too. 


236 


Trapped! 

“ Don’t you know of it? ” she gasped. 

“ Are you serious ? ” he said. 

“ Perhaps that is why Mr. Furneaux asked me not 
to mention it to anyone. But this is beyond belief. 
Bagot, then, is really a magician. He knows — 
something, if not all. The plan was found in that 
poor Mr. Dix’s clothes. It evidently escaped the 
murderer’s search, as there were no other documents. 
A copy of it is in my cabin. Let me bring it to 
you.” 

She went out, blowing a kiss to him at the door. 

Leigh, who did not care if she were a lineal de- 
scendant of some Lancashire witch so long as she was 
his, rose and looked through a port-hole. He only 
meant to waylay her as she returned, but his glance 
fell on the coast, and he was conscious of a feeling 
of surprise when he saw that the yacht was still mov- 
ing westward, she being then abreast of Porlock, 
with Dunkerry Beacon raising its great hump behind 
the bay. 

It was three o’clock, the hour fixed for their return 
to Burnham! He was puzzling about the matter 
when Elinor returned, followed closely by her father, 
who had seen her passing along the deck. 

The girl did not mean Mr. Hinton to know what 
the paper was that she carried. 

“ There ! ” she said, handing a document to Ar- 
thur, “ put it in your pocket and study it at leisure. 
It will interest you. Moreover, you will soon be leav- 
ing us, and you really must go and see about that 
237 


By Force of Circumstances 

inquest. Tell Mr. Furneaux I kept you, and he will 
devise some scheme to clear you with the court, be- 
cause he never wrote that extraordinary letter.” 

“Our skipper took us a little farther than I ex- 
pected,” broke in Hinton genially. “ Perhaps Mr. 
Leigh will stay for tea. Every Englishman likes tea, 
you know, my dear.” 

“ Tea ! ” said the girl. “ Why, we seem to have 
just finished lunch.” She laughed and reddened. 
“ Anyhow, Mr. Leigh must be ashore long before tea- 
time.” 

“ Well, the yacht is doing her best. You see, we 
ran a little too far up.” 

Arthur remembered the bicyclist, and those kisses 
of Elinor’s had wonderfully clarified his brain. 

“ At present, Mr. Hinton, we are many miles from 
Burnham, and adding to their number each five min- 
utes,” he said. 

He was watching the iron-master, but he felt, 
rather than saw, a sudden rigidity in Elinor. 

“ Oh, no,” said Hinton airily. “ You are quite 
mistaken. It is very easy to confuse a coast line.” 

“ I was bred on this coast,” insisted Arthur. “ If 
you look through that window you will see Dunkerry 
and Exmoor. Not far ahead you will find Chapman 
Barrow. We are a good thirty miles from Burnham, 
and running away from it as fast as the yacht can 
steam.” 

“ Father!” 

Elinor’s voice had a ring of steel in it that Ar- 
238 


Trapped! 

thur had heard only once before — and that was in the 
agony of the fight at 44 Nielpahar.” 

“ It is all nonsense,” cried the older man angrily, 
darting a venomous glance at Arthur. 

44 I fear not,” said Elinor with scornful coldness. 
44 Even here Bagot’s hand is felt. But both you and 
he seem to have forgotten that 1 own the Mishe Nah- 
ma. The captain takes his orders from me. Come 
with me to him ; you, too, Arthur. What a vile plot ! 
And you, whom I have learned to call 4 father ’ — 
a party to it ! Do you ever think of my mother ? 
Really, I am minded to shoot Bagot ! ” 


239 


CHAPTER XII 


LIGHT IN DARKNESS 

There was no cheerfulness about the homeward 
voyage. The yacht’s sailing master seemed to be 
surprised when Elinor, letting her father down 
lightly, told him to return to Burnham at once. He 
glanced at Hinton, who had the good grace to 
say: 

“ Yes, Pomeroy, that’s all right. We have 
changed our minds.” 

Leigh half expected that when they returned to 
the salon for tea there would be a stormy scene 
between father and daughter. But nothing of the 
kind — Hinton suddenly reverted to his severely dig- 
nified, and, it must be said, more natural manner, 
suggested tea being served at once, sent the silent- 
footed Martin for a box of special cigars which 
Leigh really must sample, and generally behaved as 
though it was the most reasonable thing in the world 
that he should have tried to run off with two of the 
three people who were likely to prove thorns in the 
fat sides of Chauncey Bagot. 

Arthur, of course, was at a loss to understand 
why Elinor should have asserted her right to control 
240 


Light in Darkness 

the movements of the Mishe Nahma . It was strange, 
almost fantastic, that she should refuse to take her 
father into her confidence where Bagot was concerned. 
The man might have all the powers she credited him 
with, for Leigh himself was now beginning to fear 
him, but the majority of young women in her posi- 
tion would, at least, have striven to argue her parent 
into a right view — or that which she deemed to 
be the right view — of a plausible and dangerous 
scoundrel. 

That she was deeply annoyed was evident. She 
felt humiliated. She was devoted to her father and 
brother — Leigh was slowly appreciating the full 
measure of the service she was giving them — and it 
cut her to the quick to find that Bagot’s slightest 
wish was their law. She showed the depth of her 
distress by a sudden question: 

“ When did you hear from that man — father? ” 
and the pause was eloquent. “ How came he to bid 
you take Mr. Leigh away from a place where his 
presence is so desirable just now? ” 

No need to ask who “ that man ” was. Elinor’s 
scorn of eye and lip sufficed as labels. But Hinton 
merely shrugged. 

“ Why worry? 99 said he coolly. “ You have had 
your own way. I thought I was doing Mr. Leigh 
a good turn, and certainly acting properly in your 
interests. I still think T was right, but you have 
chosen to thwart my wishes. Let it rest at that.” 

66 In effect, you refuse to answer? ” 

241 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 No. He sent me a message — advised the voyage, 
in fact.” 

“ When? ” 

44 About one o’clock.” 

44 By the cyclist,” Arthur could not help saying. 

64 Ah, you saw ? Then you are an adept at con- 
cealing your knowledge, Mr. Leigh.” 

44 Not much of the adept about me,” laughed 
Arthur. 44 Ask Elinor — she will tell you what a 
blockhead I can be.” 

Then he blushed, for the name had slipped out 
unaware. There was a moment’s silence, but he 
was determined that there should be no further mis- 
understanding where Elinor and he were concerned. 

44 1 ought to explain, Mr. Hinton, that extraor- 
dinary circumstances have conspired to bring your 
daughter and myself into close communion during the 
past few days. Those circumstances go far to ex- 
plain our present relations. I have asked her to 
marry me ” 

Hinton’s face paled. It took on the severely 
Non-conformist aspect that was so outrageously 
opposed to his thick-and-thin adherence to Bagot’s 
cause. 

44 It is impossible,” he said, with a curious grimace. 
44 She is promised elsewhere.” 

44 Promised to Bagot, do you mean? ” 

44 Well— yes.” 

44 To a man who tried to murder her and me last 
night — who is more than suspected of being the au- 
242 


Light in Darkness 

thor, if not the actual agent, of poor Mr. Dix’s 
death? ” 

44 My dear sir, who is Mr. Dix, and who says that 
Bagot killed him? ” 

44 Father,” broke in the girl desperately, 44 why do 
you champion Bagot? ” 

44 Why should I not ? He is of the highest probity, 
a man unequaled for his attainments, a man whom 
everybody knows ; yet here is a young gentleman I 
have only seen twice in my life telling me coolly that 
he proposes to marry you, aiding and abetting you in 
actions which no self-respecting girl could possibly 
commit, and actually daring to suggest that a world’s 
genius like Bagot is a felon. Really, you seem to 
be rather mad, both of you.” 

Elinor sighed, but made no reply. Leigh took heed 
of her silence. She could have said so much of 
Bagot, her injured arm might have given such good 
testimony in her behalf, that she had some powerful 
reason for keeping shut lips. He would imitate her 
example, at any rate with regard to contentious 
matters. 

44 Yes,” he said, 44 these are first-rate cigars, but 
my taste for the Havana leaf has been spoiled by 
smoking Boer tobacco. Have you ever tried any?” 

Even Hinton laughed at this wrench of topics. 

44 Just a word of advice to you young people,” he 
said quietly. 44 Don’t oppose Bagot. You, Leigh, 
don’t carry enough guns. He could brush aside a 
million men if they hindered him.” 

243 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ He tried to brush me aside last night,” said 
Arthur. “ With a revolver,” he added. 

“ You will not convince my father that Mr. Bagot 
can do any wrong,” broke in Elinor sadly. Again 
was there a hardly perceptible warning in her words, 
and Leigh refrained from extending the catalogue 
of Bagot’s misdeeds. 

The yacht ran into Burnham roadstead about seven 
o’clock. Somewhat earlier, Hinton went to his cabin 
— to finish some correspondence, he explained. Eli- 
nor’s distress was shown by her sorrow-laden eyes 
and quivering lips. 

“ He is going to warn Bagot of failure,” she said. 
“ What shall I do ? We seem to be groping in the dark. 
Even Mr. Eurneaux is powerless, and I did not dream 
that Bagot had my father so deeply in the toils.” 

“ How long have you known the man?” asked 
Arthur, whose wits became the more entangled as his 
knowledge of existing conditions increased. 

66 Since I was a child, a girl of eight or nine. I 
seem now to discover a far-reaching calculation in 
every act of his. Mr. Hinton is not my father. My 
own father died when I was hardly able to walk. I 
do not remember him at all. My stepfather was a 
distant cousin, who lost his wife about the same time 
that my mother lost her husband. Bagot, his friend, 
brought about a marriage that seemed reasonable 
enough at the time, but at last I am beginning to 
appreciate his far-reaching motive. The man whom 
I quickly came to look upon as my father has always 
244 


Light in Darkness 

been under his domination. My mother and her people 
must have known that, and the knowledge made them 
distrustful. Our Philadelphia business came through 
her line, so, when she died three years ago, I found 
myself the owner of everything, while my stepfather 
has only a life interest — devoid of control. Perhaps 
Bagot arranged that too. Oh, he is subtle, and his 
arm is long ! ” 

66 It is you, then, who are possessed of millions ? 99 
cried Arthur, with a sudden pang of the old terror 
at his heart. Why should this delightful girl give 
herself to him? She had the world at her feet. How 
came it that she was ready to endow a mere stranger 
with her wealth and her magnificent youth? 

She laughed dolefully. 

“ You see to what straits my millions have brought 
me! I, who never knew father or brother, and who 
apparently reveled in the possession of both when 
Mr. Hinton and his son came into our family circle, 
have been robbed of both — by Bagot. He would 
also steal me, nearly succeeded in fact, but you have 
twice prevented him. Above all, he would steal my 
money. He has already wrung many thousands out 
of Mr. Hinton, and poor Harry is completely under 
his thumb. I tell you he is a plague, a canker in the 
age. If we lived in other times I would suspect him 
as the Apocalyptic Beast ! 99 

Then Leigh started like a nervous woman. He re- 
called Bagot’s extraordinarily lucid exposition of the 
doctrinal peculiarities and strange allegories con- 
245 


By Force of Circumstances 

tained in Revelation. Though Leigh himself had no 
fuller knowledge of the debated Apokalypsis Ioannou 
than any other young man of fair general reading, 
he had followed Bagot’s luminous discourse concern- 
ing the Muratorian Canon, the Alogian Rejection, the 
Memphitic and Thebaic exclusions, with an interest 
and understanding that might more reasonably be 
expected from him during an argument on the causes 
and unwritten history of the Boer War. That was 
due to the magic of Bagot’s crystal intellect; it was 
passing strange to hear from Elinor’s lips such a 
curious comparison. 

The girl saw the perplexity in his face ; it alarmed 
her. 

“ I don’t want you to fear Bagot ! ” she cried. 44 I 
only dreaded his influence over you, but I want you 
to fight him ever, just as you fought him last night.” 

The appeal was not thrown away. It steadied 
Leigh’s troubled brain. 

44 1 shall never fear him,” he reassured her, 44 but 
I do begin to feel rather helpless. And how can 
Furneaux cope with such a man!” 

44 1 asked him that very question long before fate 
threw me, yes, literally threw me into your arms, and 
guess what he said.” 

44 1 could never guess what Furneaux would say.” 

44 He said : 4 1 have met many criminals who were 
gifted far beyond me, Miss Hinton, but in each and 
all of them there was an intellectual kink, and when 
the strain came on the rope of their intelligence that 
246 


Light in Darkness 

kink proved fatal. Now, I have discovered Bagot’s 
kink, which will lead to his undoing.’ ” 

“ What is it?” 

“ His invention — the great departure that is to 
bring about the millennium. You remember, I told 
you ” 

The plash of oars broke in on their eager talk. 
They looked out shoreward. A boat was pulling 
away from the yacht’s side. Elinor rose instantly 
with the cry: 

“ You have been too many hours away from the 
Abbey. Mr. Furneaux may be wanting you. You 
cannot realize how your absence may be twisted to 
suit Bagot’s ends. You must go instantly. Don’t 
forget you have that plan. It is quite clear. To- 
morrow I shall tell you more. You must not wait now. 
Good-night, my Arthur! I have sought and longed 
for you since we lost each other in Lyonnesse ! ” 

On deck they met Hinton. 

“ You will stay for dinner, Leigh,” he said. 
“ What difference does it make now whether you reach 
home at eight or eleven? ” 

“ I don’t know, and that is why I am going now,” 
was the stout answer. 

Another boat took Leigh ashore. He shipped a 
second pair of oars and tried to overtake the first 
boat. He nearly succeeded. He was so close to the 
small pier when a sailor sprang on to it that he 
could see the letter-bag the man was carrying. He 
noticed, too, that the messenger went to the post-office. 
247 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Nothing very suspicious about that,” he mused, 
and forthwith stepped out briskly Abbey-wards. The 
midsummer gloaming was wrapping the valley in its 
cloak of mystery. A brooding peace had settled on 
woodland and pasture, darkening the first tints of 
gold in the cornfields and etching in deep tones the 
great patches of purple clover. Laden bees sang 
past his ear on the last flight of a busy day. Nature 
was about to sleep. It was an hour for reverie, yet 
his mind was full of a thousand thoughts. They 
had but slight cohesion. Their blurred outlines were 
resolved into the thrilling consciousness that he loved 
and was beloved. What a fairy domain was this vale 
of the Parret when seen through a lover’s entranced 
eyes ! It seemed quite reasonable now that Elinor and 
he should have wanted to fly to close embrace at their 
first meeting. Was she not the Belle Damosel? Jen- 
kins was exalted into a prophet, a very seer. 

“ Yes, by Jove,” said Arthur to himself, “ Jen- 
kins clinched matters the instant Elinor set foot 
within the Abbot’s Port ! ” 

At a bend in the road, on the last little knoll 
whence a view of Burnham was obtainable, he turned 
and looked at the yacht, just because she was there. 
In the distance he saw a dogcart approaching. He 
could not distinguish its two occupants, but one 
seemed to be a man in uniform. By the fortunate 
accident of the presence of a clump of bushes on the 
hill, Leigh knew that he himself was not visible. Giv- 
ing play to the scout’s instinct, he sank among the 
248 


Light in Darkness 

tall grass by the roadside, crept in behind the briars 
and honeysuckle, and waited until the vehicle passed. 
The horse was traveling rapidly. The driver was 
an ostler from a Burnham hotel, his companion a 
sailor, with Mislie Nahma writ in gold letters on 
his capband. The men were talking and smoking, but 
the sailor’s eyes were scanning the road. 

“ Looking for me,” thought Arthur. “ He is the 
man sent ashore by Hinton, and he saw my boat fol- 
lowing him. He expects to be asked if he met me on 
the road, and is watching for me. Well, all is fair 
in love and war. Here goes to surprise him ! ” 

“ Hi ! hi ! ” he shouted, springing out of his ambush. 

The trap was pulled up some forty yards ahead. 
Clearly, both sailor and driver were astonished at find- 
ing someone hurrying along the road over which they 
had just passed. 

“Taking a note to Mr. Bagot?” asked Arthur 
cheerfully, when he overtook the vehicle. 

“ Yes, sir,” said the sailor. 

“ So I understood from Miss Hinton. I thought 
I would save you the long drive to 4 Nielpahar ’ by 
telling you that Mr. Bagot is most probably not 
there.” 

Now it chanced that the iron-master had told the 
man to keep his eyes open between Burnham and 
Bridgewater in case Mr. Bagot came that way, so 
Arthur had arrived at the truth by false logic. 

“ Do you know where he is, sir ? ” said the mes- 
senger. 


249 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 No ; I have half a notion that he may be at my 
place, the Abbey. At any rate, he is almost sure to 
call there after dinner.” 

44 If I thought that ” began the sailor, scratch- 

ing an ear perplexedly. 

44 Perhaps it will avoid all difficulty if you give me 
the note and I convey it to Mr. Bagot.” 

“ But ” 

* Please yourself. I am sure you will not find him 
at his house. Of course, I accept full responsibility. 
Should he fail to turn up, say by nine o’clock, I will 
send one of my men with it.” 

The driver seemed to approve of the suggestion. 
The sailor was aware that Mr. Leigh, of the Abbey, 
was acquainted with Bagot, and his friendship with 
one member of the Hinton family had not been un- 
noticed in the forecastle. 

44 In that case, sir, it would suit me down to the 
ground if you took charge of it,” he said. 44 The 
fact is, sir,” he added sheepishly, 44 Bill here, an’ 
myself, would like to look in at the Bush this evenin’. 
There’s a bean-feast on ” 

44 Lucky I hailed you. Drop me at the Abbey 
road.” 

Arthur climbed to the back seat, pocketed a letter 
addressed to C. Bagot, Esq., and chatted with the two 
men until they deposited him on his own property. 
It was his original intention to follow them leisurely 
into Bridgewater and hand the letter to Inspector 
Furneaux, so he stopped the dogcart somewhat short 
250 


Light in Darkness 

of the private road, explaining that he meant to take 
a short cut, but meaning really to follow the foot- 
path by the Parret. To lend color to the assumption 
that he was going to his own house, he climbed a gate 
on the opposite side of the road. 

The horse trotted away. Sheltered by a thick 
hedge, Leigh watched the vehicle as it passed rapidly 
through the long straight avenue of trees that con- 
verted the road into an arcade of somber boscage. 
The light was now deepening into dusk, and the men 
had almost disappeared — indeed, in another instant 
he would have crossed the road to reach the stile, 
when he saw a figure leap out from among the trees 
opposite the Abbey road and peer earnestly after the 
diminishing dogcart. 

“ Steady the Buffs ! 99 thought Leigh, and he stood 
fast. 

The newcomer seemed to decide that the occupants 
of the vehicle did not demand his attention. He 
glanced back as though to make sure that no one 
was approaching from the direction of Burnham, and 
forthwith vanished in the shade. 

44 So ho ! 99 said Leigh. 44 That clears a doubtful 
point. Now I know how Bagot ascertained that I 
was going to the yacht this morning. But two can 
play at that game.” 

It was like old times when he began to stalk his 
quarry. Many a night had he wormed himself across 
the garden or paddock of a Boer farmhouse and 
listened to the talk on the stoep in the hope that 
251 


By Force of Circumstances 

a stray phrase might reveal the whereabouts of a 
marauding commando. There was a keen joy now 
in pitting his skill against that of the spy, and he 
had the advantage of his boyhood’s memories in the 
knowledge of every clump of brushwood and un- 
marked passage through the trees. By making a 
detour , he reached a slight hollow exactly opposite 
the junction of the roads. Worming his way across 
it, he crept under a mass of rhododendrons until he 
could see the place where the other man was in hiding ; 
then he awaited developments. 

Half an hour sped slowly. It grew nearly pitch- 
dark in the wood, but the white roads were visible 
enough. At last he heard the strenuous panting of 
a high-powered automobile coming from Bridge- 
water. It slowed a long way off, and stopped almost 
noiselessly at the foot of the Abbey road. 

“ Gustave! ” said Bagot’s deep, musical voice. 

“ Monsieur,” was the reply, and there was a slight 
movement of foliage. 

“ Have you seen anyone? ” 

“ None but a sailor from the yacht, driven in a two- 
wheeled carriage by a man like a groom, monsieur.” 

“A sailor from the Mishe Nahma? ” 

“ Exactly, monsieur.” 

“ But the yacht left Burnham at one o’clock ! ” 

“ Undoubtedly, monsieur.” 

“ Ah, I have it. This man was on shore, and the 
Mishe Nahma sailed without him. He is looking for 
me, thinking I may know her first port of call.” 

252 


Light in Darkness ' 

“ Just what I thought, monsieur.” 

“ Well, he will have a pleasant drive for nothing. 
I do not return to 4 Nielpahar ’ to-night. The place 
reeks of police. No need to remain here. Our birds are 
caged. Put your bicycle in the tonneau and take the 
wheel. I am tired. I want food and wine. Dinner 
awaits us at the Ponds Covert.” 

The car backed and turned. The fumes from the 
exhaust were belched into Arthur’s face as he lay be- 
neath the rhododendrons. But he laughed silently. 

“ Glad you are tired, Bagot,” he chortled. 44 Other- 
wise you might have run on to Burnham and seen a 
brilliantly illuminated yacht, and that might have 
surprised you.” 

But Bagot’s mention of 44 food and wine ” had sug- 
gested the excellence of such articles, for, truth to 
tell, Arthur had not eaten heartily on board the 
Mishe Nahma. He decided now that Jenkins was a 
more desirable companion than Inspector Fumeaux 
during the next hour. Yet the atmosphere of deceit 
and double-dealing that Bagot had brought with him 
lingered there like the fumes of the petrol, and Arthur 
was minded, though for no very definite reason, to 
enter the Abbey by his own secret path. He ran 
lightly past the closed gate, counted the oak trees 
by the side of the towering wall, climbed the fifteenth, 
and soon found himself perched above the gargoyle. 

Before dropping down among the ivy, idle curiosity 
impelled him to put his hand into the gaping mouth 
of stone. To his very great surprise, his fingers 
253 


By Force of Circumstances 

closed on the butt of the revolver hidden there in 
a moment of absurd panic. The amazing thing was 
that Furneaux had not removed it, though he knew it 
was there. But there was no accounting for the little 
man’s methods. Arthur put the weapon into the 
pocket that already contained Hinton’s letter to 
Bagot and Elinor’s drawing of the hidden passage 
in the Abbey. He descended his stair of ivy branches, 
walked quietly up the garden, went to the dining- 
room window, and found it latched and bolted, 
though he had gone out that way in the morning. 

So, after all, he had to take the side path by the 
stables, and every dog in the 66 Place of Sojourn,” 
hearing the strange footsteps, set up a din of bark- 
ing that awoke the echoes. 

In the midst of the turmoil he came upon one of the 
under gardeners peering out into the courtyard. The 
man was so startled at seeing him that Arthur’s sus- 
picions were stirred. He resolved on a test that more 
than once had made a Kaffir deem the Baas a white 
witch-doctor. 

64 Thought I had gone off in the yacht, eh?” he 
said sternly. 

46 Well, sir ” and nothing else came from those 

stuttering lips. 

44 It is rather rotten that one’s own servants should 
be in the pay of people who are one’s enemies,” went 
on Leigh, pressing home the chance shaft that had 
struck so truly. 44 Now, pay heed to me, you rascal. 
If you endeavor to leave the Manor to-night, or I 
254 


Light in Darkness 

have the least cause to believe that you are giving in- 
formation to anyone at any time about my business, 
I’ll — hand you over to the police.” 

He was going to threaten a direct and personal 
vengeance, but he fancied a reference to the law would 
prove more potent. He strode into the hall, thinking 
of Bagot’s “ long arm,” and Jenkins came swiftly at 
his voice. 

The old man’s delight at his presence was shown 
by a volley of eager words. 

“ Oh, Master Arthur,” he cried, “ where have you 
been? You were wanted by so many people, an’ the 
inquest is adjourned, an’ Mr. Lawson said he couldn’t 
understand why you didn’t turn up, an’ that other 
one, the little man, sniffed, an’ said you’d surely get 
yourself into trouble one of these days.” 

66 So Mr. Furneaux called, eh? Is he coming back 
to-night ? ” 

“ No, sir. Said he was goin’ to Bristol, as it was 
more than likely you’d be away till to-morrow or next 
day.” 

“All the better. Bring me some dinner, Jenkins. 
And, by the way, what is the name of this skunk? ” 
Leigh pointed to the under gardener. 

“ Banks, sir. He’s one of them that looks after 
the animiles.” 

“ Kindly look after him, to-night. See that he 
is not allowed out, nor anybody else, for that matter, 
without my consent.” 

“ And if there’s any callers, sir? ” 

255 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Tell me who they are before you answer their 
questions.” 

Jenkins seemed to discover a new tone in the young 
master of the Abbey. It pleased him. It was with a 
magnificent air that he made known “ Mr. Leigh’s 
orders ” in the servants’ hall. 

In the library Arthur picked up a letter from 
Mowle and Mowle, among some others of no im- 
portance. It had arrived by the evening post, and 
had been written that day. 

“ We are favored with instructions from a Mr. 
Chauncey Bagot to prepare a lease of the Abbey 
Manor to him,” it ran. “ Mr. Bagot says he can ar- 
range the Dix and Churchill mortgage, but, under the 
conditions, the rent must be nominal. He informs us 
that exceptional circumstances may prevent you from 
writing to us, but asks that a member of our firm 
should be at hand early on Thursday morning in 
order that the affair can be carried through without 
delay. Mr. Bagot evidently wishes to act promptly, 
as he inclosed a check for preliminary expenses, so 
our Mr. Philip Mowle awaits you at the above address, 
whither Mr. Bagot and your good self will, as stated 
in his letter, arrive on Thursday before noon.” 

Then Arthur looked at “ the above address,” and 
learnt that the solicitor wrote from a Bristol hotel. 

“ Ah ! ” he smiled, “ Bristol again ! Furneaux has 
a finger in the pie as usual. Now, what shall I do 
with Hinton’s letter ? ” 

Though engaged in a very serious fight against 
256 


Light in Darkness 

Bagot, he had a gentleman’s prejudice against open- 
ing a letter addressed to his enemy. He thought he 
had done right in intercepting it, but the limit of 
his intent was to hand it to Furneaux, and let the 
detective deal with it as he thought fit. This visit 
of Furneaux’s to Bristol complicated matters. All 
he could do now, with any degree of plausibleness, 
would be to forward the letter to Bagot in the morn- 
ing, and explain that he had half expected to meet 
him overnight; Mowle and Mowle’s communication 
gave a peg of a sort on which to hang an excuse for 
the anticipated meeting. 

But that brought the query: Why was Bagot so 
determined to become the Abbey’s tenant? Why was 
he so sure that Arthur would ultimately agree to his 
terms ? 

The man might be a silver-tongued genius indeed, 
but how could he hope to charm into compliance with 
his desires one whom he had striven to kill, and who 
was supposed at that moment to be virtually his pris- 
oner on board the Mishe Nahma? Then Arthur 
recollected that the solicitor must have been summoned 
from London before the turmoil of the previous night. 
By this time Bagot was aware that some part of his 
scheme had miscarried. But what wizard’s spell had 
brought Furneaux to Bristol? Therein lay further 
puzzlement. No matter how Arthur looked at the 
problem, its solution seemed to rest with the lease. 

Suddenly he rapped his head with clenched 
knuckles. 


257 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 The plan ! ” he muttered. 44 Elinor’s plan . . . 
4 found in poor Dix’s clothes,’ she said ... is that 
the solution ? ” 

He took it out of his pocket, where it lay with the 
revolver and Hinton’s letter. Before he could even 
unfold it, Jenkins was in the room to lay the cloth. 
Back went the paper again. Arthur was growing 
wary. 

He wondered if Bagot knew that Fumeaux was 
in Bristol. 

44 Did the detective, Mr. Furneaux I mean, tell 
you of his own accord that he was leaving Bridge- 
water ? ” he asked. 

44 Yes, sir. Queer man he is. Shouted it 
out as he was driving off in Inspector Lawson’s 
trap.” 

44 Why shout? ” 

44 It sort of slipped his mind, I suppose, sir, until 
he was nearly across the courtyard.” 

Leigh’s hand stroked his chin. He was not wholly 
devoid of experience of Furneaux’s candid methods. 
He could almost hear him chuckling : 44 I’m open, open 
as the day . . . quite frank . . . tell everybody 
everything.” 

44 At what time was he here? ” said Leigh. 

44 About four o’clock, sir.” 

44 Have any of the men been out since — that fel- 
low Banks, for instance?” 

44 Yes, sir, sev’ral of ’em. Banks fed the dogs an’ 
the rest, an’ went to the post.” 

258 


Light in Darkness 

44 Does Banks drink? ” 

“ Well, sir, he likes a glass or two, but I’ve never 
seen him the worse, as the sayin’ is.” 

44 Fill him full. Tank him up with whiskey. I 
would like him to feel quarrelsome about ten 
o’clock.” 

44 But, Master Arthur ” 

44 1 have my reasons. It’s a waste of good liquor, 
but he may find his tongue that way, and I want him 
to talk — to yield to the pump.” 

Leigh dined sumptuously. Though the viands were 
cold, he was hungry. There was wine on the table, 
and Jenkins recommended it, yet it remained un- 
tasted, for Arthur thought it best to keep his head 
clear, and never was man more in* need of a clear 
head than he before he slept that night. 

The meal ended, a cigar lit, and Jenkins gone to 
attend to the tanking of Banks, Leigh was free to 
examine the plan. At first he could make nothing of 
it. A rough outline sketch of the house and gardens 
was so lacking in detail that he was not a minute in 
hitting upon a dotted line that seemed to run from 
the south side of the house along the west front until 
it reached the old wall that held the Abbot’s Port. 
Thence it followed the high boundary wall, and turned 
off abruptly toward the locality of the mound. Two 
crosses apparently marked the beginning and the end 
of what Elinor had described as 44 a secret passage.” 
She was on the point of saying something about it 
when he himself changed the whole trend of their 
259 


By Force of Circumstances 

thoughts by discovering that the yacht was running 
away with them. 

But near each cross was a circle, and within the 
circle that stood inside the plan of the house itself, 
were a figure 5 and two other figures, thus : 4’6. To 
help in the solution of this puzzle, he tried to piece 
together in his memory the unnerving impressions of 
that haunted night when Bagot had actually forced 
him by auto-suggestion to destroy and hide the evi- 
dences of a crime. 

He remembered the rolling of a ring or coin down 
a series of steps, the murmur of words, the search 
of the bedrooms, and the circular room. Ah, was 
that it? One circle, at least, assumed a certain sig- 
nificance. Perhaps, if he surveyed the ground, 
things now hidden might become patent. He went to 
his own room, lit the pink candle Elinor had given him, 
stuck it in a candlestick, and, by way of experiment, 
paced the floor, the corridors, and the floor of the next 
room. Then he learnt, for the first time in his life, 
that the dividing wall must be at least three feet 
thick, though it had no strain to bear, being a mere 
partition ! 

He saw instantly why one might live in the house 
fifty years and never find out this abnormality. There 
was nothing to guide the eye. The rooms were en- 
tered from corridors that met at a right angle. They 
were so large that the loss of a foot or so in each 
room was not perceptible. Here, then, was space and 
to spare for a passage. Candle in hand and cigar 
260 


Light in Darkness 

in mouth, he made for the lumber room overhead. 
Here he was at fault for a long time. He counted 
five columns to the left, that being the side of the 
phenomenally thick wall, and examined the woodwork 
on each side of the column. It was cracked and 
creaky, and sounded hollow all over, but force alone 
would enable him to see what lay behind. Then he 
applied the figures 4’6 which argued a measure- 
ment, but he took it as signifying breadth and thus 
wasted many minutes. 

At last he came to regard it as height, but failed 
wholly to justify a theory of any sort until he 
scrutinized the stone piers thoroughly. He met with 
no success until he reached the fifth shaft of the com- 
pound pillar which stood approximately nearest to 
the probable line of the passage. Here he noted an 
interstice between the lesser column and its main 
trunk. Seemingly, the division extended from base 
to capital, but when Leigh’s slow forefinger passed 
within, somewhat on a level with his shoulder, it en- 
countered a hook, or catch, which came out under 
pressure. 

There is an eerieness, a phantom glimpse of the 
unknown, that always attends such a discovery in 
an old mansion. Though he knew now that Elinor 
and Furneaux, for motives of their own, had 
gone that way several nights earlier, he was conscious 
of a quick thrill of excitement. He had found what 
he was looking for, having persisted in the search 
because he knew that something was there some- 
261 


By Force of Circumstances 

where, but none the less did his heart throb more 
rapidly when that piece of bent iron appeared from 
its cunningly devised hiding-place. 

Attached to it was a thin, wrought-iron chain. He 
pulled more strongly, and heard a rumbling behind 
the wainscot in a section of the wall. More chain 
came, until a yard or so had appeared from the 
depths of the pillar. Then it stopped, but nothing 
happened until he kicked the wainscot, and a whole 
panel swung inward. 

Again, though sure that this very thing would 
happen, he was so surprised that he nearly dropped 
his candlestick. Stooping to peer within the narrow 
doorway thus revealed, he relaxed his grip on the 
chain, and the oak panel was abruptly slammed in 
his face. 

Then he laughed, and, if his mirth had a hollow 
sound in it, it arose, perhaps, from the deep arches 
and chill emptiness of the room. But he laughed 
because of the trick he had played on himself. He 
realized that a stout and heavy lever bolt kept the 
panel in its place unless the chain was held taut. 
Anyone within, of course, could lift the bolt without 
using the chain. By no more simple and effective de- 
vice could absolute secrecy be attained. Short of 
stripping off the whole of the wainscoting, the door 
could never be located. Tapping was useless, even 
misleading: he ascertained afterwards that all the 
panels were clear of the wall, and the movable one 
was the most rigid among twenty-four. 

262 


Light in Darkness 

He looked at his candle. It would last for hours 
yet. He felt in his pockets to make sure he had 
matches. He examined the revolver, saw that it was 
loaded in three chambers, and quite dry, as no water 
ever passed through the mouth of the gargoyle in 
its present position. 

Then he pulled the chain again, placed his shoulder 
against the open panel, and passed within. 


263 


CHAPTER XIII 


AT CLOSE QUARTERS 

There was a sense of being immured in a tomb 
when the panel snapped back into its place, which it 
did the instant the restraint of Leigh’s shoulder was 
removed. The candle flickered in the sudden draught, 
but soon recovered, and burned with placid flame 
again. A hasty glance to right and left showed an 
arched passage. On the right it dipped into ob- 
scurity; on the left it ended abruptly in a wall, the 
masonry of which was much more recent in construc- 
tion than the rest of the stonework. 

It was an odd moment for the mind to dwell on the 
seemingly irrelevant, but Arthur could not help re- 
calling Inspector Furneaux’s aimless questions anent 
Rollaston Leigh’s tastes : “ And architecture, too, 
. . . he knew his way there? You were away at 
the time of his death; if about that time he made 
any repairs, you would not have been aware of them? ” 

Was this walling up of the passage one of the old 
man’s “ repairs ” ? — if so J enkins must know some- 
thing of it. Strange that Leigh’s thought should 
perplex itself about the solid, tangible fact of the 
blank wall to the left, when he was faced by the in- 
264 . 


At Close Quarters 

tangible mystery and gloom of the open way to the 
right ! But so it was. On the left inquiry was denied 
by stone and mortar; on the right it might be ceded 
to the bold heart and untroubled eye, and that trait 
of stubbornness in Arthur forthwith urged him to go 
to the left. He went only a few feet, peered at the 
wall, noted that the ancient masonry on both sides 
had not been cut away to permit any mortising of 
the new with the old, examined the paved floor, which 
had evidently not been disturbed for centuries, and 
went back to the doorway. 

He paused there a little while to admire the action 
of the lever bolt. A block of ironwood, or it might 
be lignum-vitae, fitted into two slits in the wall. 
One end was secured to an iron bolt on which it 
moved easily; the other end could be lifted by the 
chain. This wooden bar would not warp ; when raised, 
its downward thrust must infallibly tend to close the 
panel, and when at rest in the stone sockets it was 
tight and immovable sideways. 

Somehow, its blend of scheming and honesty sug- 
gested old Leigh’s character. It was at once astute 
and unyielding, this door that was not a door, this 
simple thing of everyday life twisted to the unusual. 
Here, Arthur fancied, the original wall had merely 
been hewn through. There was no fresh cement, or, at 
any rate, none visible. The panel entrance was 
an adaptation of the passage, to which admission 
must have been obtained from some other part of 
the house in former times. Surely so much hewing 
265 


By Force of Circumstances 

and delving, not to speak of the carriage of materials 
to an upper room in the Abbey, could not have taken 
place without Jenkins being aware. There must have 
been workmen busy for days. And Furneaux knew — 
but, then, he knew so many things. 

Passing on, Arthur found himself at the head of 
a downward slope. The paving followed the line of 
the passage, but a few steps of deal boards had been 
fitted when it became steep. He understood now that 
these steps were located just behind his bed, and it 
was thence that the sounds like the dropping and 
rolling of a coin or ring had reached him. The 
boards creaked, too, under his feet, and he pictured 
to himself Elinor’s fright when she was told, as 
Furneaux would certainly tell her, that the noise she 
made must have reached him — Leigh — if he were 
awake. It must have been Elinor. Furneaux would 
move like the ghost he caricatured. 

The descent continued. There were other steps, a 
long straight gallery to the right, and a sloping one 
to the left again. It was not difficult to follow the 
general underground line of advance. The second 
turn and dip meant that the passage adapted itself 
to the gradient of the lawns. Soon it bent off once 
more to the left, and now Arthur was rather fogged. 
He believed the turn was made just beyond the Abbot’s 
Port, which Elinor had spoken of, and his first im- 
pression was that the secret way would empty itself 
among the rocks that barricaded the west side of the 
garden. But no! He now entered on by far the 
266 


At Close Quarters 

longest straight section. He walked fully a hundred 
yards on the level before the passage began to 
climb, slightly but perceptibly. 

Then, suddenly, almost without a premonitory 
glance, he found himself on the threshold of a large 
and lofty chamber, circular in shape, and fitted with 
a remarkable array of empty shelves. These were 
deep and spacious enough to hold articles as big as 
a bale of cloth, or a small barrel ; and with the notion 
of bales and barrels came the instant certainty that, 
no matter what the intent of the original builders, in 
later years this passage and chamber had provided 
a peculiarly valuable storehouse for smugglers. 

Two wooden ladders were built into the shelves, 
which ran right up to the spring of the arch of 
the stone dome, and Arthur was wondering how such 
a high chamber could exist and yet remain invisible 
from above ground, when it occurred to him that 
the Georgian rebuilder had not left the heap of stones 
on the flagstaff mound without excellent reason. He 
saw, too, that the apartment was of later construction 
than the passage. Thus far, there was no mystery, 
only a discovery of much local interest, and, perhaps, 
of some antiquarian value. 

He was surprised to find that the air, which had 
been fusty but dry in the passage, was quite fresh 
in this stronghold of free trade. As his eyes grew 
accustomed to the reduced light of the candle in such 
a large area, he soon solved this problem as well. 
Beneath the lowermost shelf on the opposite side — 
267 


By Force of Circumstances 

opposite to his present position, that is, the room 
being quite round — the passage continued. Peering 
into it, he had to shield the candle with his right 
hand, so strong was the current of air. 

A step or two into the interior gave him pause. 
The deodorizing influence of air and water had begun 
to loosen the masonry. The crown of the arch was 
broken in many places; whole sections of the walls 
had caved in; not only was the tunnel almost im- 
passable, but the slightest movement might bring 
down tons of rock and earth on top of anyone who 
ventured within. 

So he returned to the domed chamber, and stood 
there awhile, musing, and the turbulent river of his 
thoughts surged incessantly around and about one 
stark rock of fact — Bagot wanted a lease of the 
Abbey — Bagot would go to any lengths to obtain it — 
Bagot had somehow compassed the death of Dix, a 
man who had held an impossible mortgage on the 
place — Bagot, or someone acting for him, had prob- 
ably brought about the reported disappearance of 
the other mortgagee, Churchill. 

What did it all mean? Why had Elinor warned 
him against Bagot and striven desperately to stop 
the granting of the lease? Of course she had 
given reasons, but she was withholding some knowl- 
edge that she shared with Bagot — and with Fur- 
neaux. Oddly enough, the remembrance of Furneaux 
was comforting. Bagot’s apparently superhuman 
faculties became less terrifying when looked at 
268 


At Close Quarters 

through the Furneaux lens. That kink theory was 
cheering, and if Bagot did really possess a kink, the 
little man from Jersey would test it to breaking- 
point. 

It was rather annoying that Furneaux should have 
taken himself off from Bridgewater just at that mo- 
ment. Of course it was more than likely he had not 
gone to Bristol, just because he said he was going 
there. Arthur believed that the detective might be 
found by anyone who maintained a steady watch on 
the house and grounds at 64 Nielpahar.” Had not Ba- 
got himself said that evening that he meant to dine at 
Pinkerton’s, the Ponds Covert house? Furneaux, by 
some amazing prescience, knew that, and was utiliz- 
ing the opportunity of searching Bagot’s residence 
during the tenant’s absence. Still, Arthur wished 
greatly for an interview with the Scotland Yard ex- 
pert that evening. They would indulge in candor 
when they met — that he promised himself, for his 
own part. 

These thoughts of time and distance caused him 
to look at his watch. To his surprise it was nearly 
ten o’clock, the hour fixed for the pumping of Banks. 
He must return at once. He would examine the 
passage with the utmost detail next day — in Elinor’s 
company, he hoped — and with a stronger light. 
Meanwhile, just to placate the imp of curiosity, he 
would climb one of the ladders and see if all the 
upper shelves were as empty as they looked. 

The rungs seemed sound and strong, but he de- 
269 


By Force of Circumstances 

cided that it was best to run no risk of a fall, which 
meant that he must have both hands at. liberty. The 
candlestick was an old brass one, with a wide, hollow 
base; he could balance it on his head without much 
chance of dropping it, and he knew that he would 
be able to see all the better if the light were above 
his eyes. 

Luckily, his temperament did not incline to delay 
when a thing was to be done. In half a minute he 
was turning his head stiffly — for fear of upsetting 
the candlestick — to glance around the topmost shelf. 
Like the others, it held nothing but dust, and little 
of that. Slowly he untwisted his neck again, and 
was about to descend when he fancied he heard some- 
thing. He was not sure; it might be the fall of a 
morsel of stone or lime in that broken part of the 
tunnel; but his impression was that the sound, if 
it were a sound, came from the long passage leading 
so deviously to the house. 

He listened, all ear and alertness. Yes, there was 
a noise, faint but most clear — like the dropping of 
a pin in that imagined stillness when a pin can be 
heard to drop. 

So, then, here was another adventure, to add to the 
store he had accumulated since a prosaic hack brought 
him and his baggage from Bridgewater Station to 
the Abbey ! But, this time, Leigh was prepared. He 
was fighting men now, not ghosts or creatures of the 
unknown. He was fighting for Elinor, not against 
her. He made a plan instantly and acted on it. 

270 


At Close Quarters 

Up he went, until his breast was level with the edge 
of the shelf. He took the candle off his head, lifted 
himself bodily inward, searched rapidly on hands and 
knees until he found a knot-hole, which happened also 
to occur at a joining of the shrunken boards, stuck 
a finger in it, blew out the candle and extinguished 
the wick, took the revolver from his pocket and 
placed it between shirt and waistcoat, stood the 
candlestick close to the wall where he could find it 
at one sweep of a hand, and lay down flat on the 
shelf with his eyes over knot-hole and crack. 

Then he listened again. 

He was not mistaken. After a brief interval he 
not only heard the noise, but identified it — it was the 
tapping of a small hammer! Though enveloped in 
a darkness that could only be compared with the 
gloom of some abandoned mine in the heart of a 
mountain, the intermittent tap-tap of iron on stone 
brought his mind into the sunlit garden of Elinor’s 
second visit to the Abbey. He was up there with her, 
drinking in the subtle fragrance of her presence; he 
felt again the thrill of that slight touch upon his 
arm when she said 44 Look ! ” and pointed to Bagot, 
clinging, like some fat monk, to the ivy surrounding 
the gargoyle, and tapping with his little hammer at 
the grotesque stone head with its Benedictine 
biretta. 

And here was the tapping once more, the same 
persistently inquiring tapping, the questioning that 
brings its own answer to the ear of geologist or miner. 
271 


By Force of Circumstances 

Who could it be but Bagot, and what would be the 
outcome if Bagot, too, climbed a ladder when he 
reached the vaulted chamber? 

At that, Arthur smiled. 

“ By gad, it will be a supreme test of his nerve,” 
he mused. “ I wonder what he will say? Will it be, 
‘ Hello, Leigh, who would have thought of seeing you 
here? 9 Or will he drop to the floor with a heavy 
thud? Or try to shoot me straight off? Well, in the 
last alternative, I shall have first pop.” 

The tapping came nearer. Bagot was making a 
preliminary survey. It would be the labor of weeks 
to try each stone for the hollow receptacle that might 
lie behind it. He was working his way along the pas- 
sage with the curiosity of a stranger rather than the 
set purpose of one who seeks treasure trove. 

Soon a faint gleam of light shot into the room. 
It was fitful, and flickered in and out, though each 
glint of dull radiance became stronger. Bagot, there- 
fore, was carrying a bull’s-eye lantern. Leigh, in 
a species of commentary on Bagot’s doings, asked 
himself how it was possible for anyone but himself 
to gain admission to the Abbey without the knowl- 
edge of Jenkins. It was scarcely credible that his 
trusted butler would allow a visitor to roam freely 
over the house, especially at such a late hour. 

Elinor, too, sweet intruder, and that quaint ally 
of hers, the detective, must have entered the place 
secretly. Here was an item that called for investiga- 
tion to-morrow; meanwhile, it was to-night, and 
272 


At Close Quarters 

Bagot was tapping his way up the final incline, and 
would soon be in sight. 

Nor was Leigh in error in picturing the stout, agile 
form, crowned by the big egg-shaped head, with its 
mass of dark hair, that would emerge from the tun- 
nel. It was Bagot himself, in evening dress, but over 
his black clothes and broad expense of shirt-f ront was 
a light dustcoat, and Arthur noted instantly that one 
outer pocket hung heavily. 

To all appearance, Bagot had never before en- 
tered the circular storeroom. Just as Leigh had done, 
he stood at the entrance and surveyed every part. It 
was almost uncanny for Arthur to find Bagot’s 
shrewd, bland eyes gazing up at him, unconsciously, 
from beneath their heavy brows. He had to force 
himself to believe that though we can see a whole 
city through a pinhole in a piece of paper, the whole 
city can see nothing behind the piece of paper. 
Nevertheless, so powerful is imagination, he was quite 
pleased when Bagot looked elsewhere. 

Naturally, the newcomer’s attention was drawn by 
the continuation of the tunnel. He went there at 
once, peeped in, blocked up the passage with his huge 
frame, and speedily withdrew it, for he was very 
much alive to the danger of pushing investigation too 
far in that direction. Standing now with his back 
to the air-current, he cast the lantern’s searchlight 
up to the shelves and vaulted roof again. 

Leigh felt that he himself was squinting horribly; 
he could afford to lose no movement of his enemy, but 
27 3 


By Force of Circumstances 

he hoped devoutly that Bagot would soon cross the 
floor to a less oblique angle of vision. The capacious 
shelves evidently invited inquiry; and Leigh’s fingers 
closed on the butt of the revolver when Bagot ap- 
proached the opposite ladder and gave one of the 
rungs a tentative shake. 

But at that moment, while Bagot was measuring his 
weight against the crossbars, and Leigh was wonder- 
ing under what exact conditions it was justifiable to 
shoot a man in accord with British law, a lively 
whistling and a jaunty step came from the long 
corridor. A crash of thunder could not have amazed 
either man more profoundly. Both, by a species of 
intuition, knew who it was, and each was called on 
to meet a new and wholly unforeseen set of circum- 
stances. 

Arthur expected that Bagot would extinguish his 
lantern, skulk into the broken-down passage, and, 
possibly, try to kill Furneaux before the detective 
was even aware of his presence. In that case, Leigh’s 
tactics were definite. He would wait until Furneaux 
was near enough to hear, and then yell a warning that 
he was to advance no further. As a result, in all 
probability, Bagot would appear, begin to explain 
matters, and wonder what blight had fallen on him 
that a young fool of an ex-trooper of South African 
Horse should be for ever blocking his path. 

Bagot, however, after the first shock had passed, 
and the sudden greenness of his face was replaced 
by its customary pallor, neither put out his lantern 
274 


At Close Quarters 

not strove to hide. His hand dropped to that heavy 
pocket of his overcoat, but he withdrew it again, and 
began to stroke his array of chins. He was of the 
type that allows thought to govern action. The mere 
killing of Furneaux, assuming that Bagot was so 
minded, might be an irretrievable blunder. The con- 
ditions demanded the exercise of wit, and Bagot 
prided himself on his overwhelming superiority to the 
detective in that essential. 

Leigh, watching him, was filled with hope that 
there might be a struggle. He did not want to shoot 
the man in cold blood, but he did want to sink his 
fingers into that bull neck, and repay, once and for all, 
the torture of the chase through the wilderness of 
46 Nielpahar,” and the searing agony of those two 
wounds in Elinor’s arm. His muscles twitched at the 
prospect, and not for an instant did he take an eye 
off Bagot, not even when Furneaux appeared, ceased 
whistling as though lost in astonishment, and held a 
lantern above his head in well-affected effort to learn 
who it was that already tenanted the vault. 

44 Well, of all the wonderful things!” gasped the 
little man, discovering Bagot with some such senti- 
ment of joy as Galle must have felt when the planet 
Neptune swam into the field of his entranced vision. 

44 Apparently the earth holds but us two,” laughed 
Bagot. 

44 Good, sir — just the remark I would have expected 
from you. Now, if I were a scientist like you, Mr. 
Bagot, I would cap it by saying something about 
275 


By Force of Circumstances 

the attraction of large bodies for smaller ones. You 
big men draw us tiny fellows as a loadstone draws 
a needle.” 

“ Pretty well put, Furneaux. Somehow, one as- 
sociates a needle with a detective. Both are sharp 
and keen, and given to probing. But a needle should 
only be used on soft material. If it endeavors to 
carry out the functions, say of a rock-drill, it gets 
broken.” 

44 No use in my trying, then, to bore a way through 
this granite in the attempt to solve old Rollaston 
Leigh’s secret. Ha, ha ! Rum old boy he must have 
been.” 

64 Oh, is that why you are here? You have many 
activities, Furneaux.” 

44 Yes, busy man ; prying, too ; a regular poke-nose. 
But would it be a liberty to suggest, sir, that you 
seem to find rather varied occupations ? ” • 

44 Out with it, man. A plain question often wins 
an honest answer. You want to know what I am 
doing on these premises, presumably without the 
owner’s permission ? ” 

44 No, Mr. Bagot, I know already.” 

44 You guess, you mean.” 

44 1 never guess. I absorb information ; I suckle 
my wits on facts. I buzz about like a bee in every- 
body’s flower-patch, and finally produce the com- 
plete honeycomb. It may be thin stuff, but it isn’t 
guessing ! ” 

Bagot, it might be, resented this too successful 
276 


At Close Quarters 

parodying of his own elusive method of speech. He 
placed his lantern on the nearest shelf, leaned his 
broad back against the ladder, plunged his hands 
into his trousers pockets, and looked steadily at 
Furneaux, who, by this time, had deposited his lan- 
tern on the stone floor. Furneaux took a crushed 
cigar from his loose gray jacket, and smelt at it. 
The action seemed to displease Bagot more than the 
badinage. 

44 You are at liberty to dispense with parables , 55 
he said, frowning. 44 Personally, I like men who come 
to the point. Why are you spying on me, Fur- 
neaux? 55 

44 Because you and I cannot agree as to the pro- 
spective ownership of Rollaston Leigh’s hundred and 
fifty thousand pounds, Mr. Bagot . 55 

44 What reason have you for believing that any 
such sum of money is hidden here ? 55 

44 It is hidden somewhere. Both Edward James Dix 
and John Churchill were honest men. They humored 
Rollaston Leigh’s mad fancy, but they did not intend 
to rob his heir . 55 

44 Do you imply that I mean to rob his heir ? ” 

44 Implying and guessing are similar terms, Mr. 
Bagot.” 

44 It is no secret to you that I wish to lease the 
Abbey from Mr. Arthur. Leigh.” 

44 So I have been told.” 

“And that he has agreed to it?” 

44 Exactly.” 


277 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ And that I have promised to find the fifty 
thousand necessary to prevent foreclosure? ” 

44 There would have been no foreclosure if Messrs. 
Dix and Churchill were alive.” 

44 What, then, — are they both dead?” 

46 Both, Mr. Bagot.” 

44 Dear me ! Dear me ! Extraordinary coincidence ! 
That poor fellow Dix was murdered, apparently, 
by some one who had local interests, and now 
you tell me of Churchill being dead, too. Was he 
murdered? ” 

44 Hard to say, as yet. His body was found 
smashed to a pulp, on a mountain-side in Brecon- 
shire.” 

44 Found — when ? ” 

44 This morning at nine o’clock.” 

44 Now you mention it, there was something in to- 
day’s newspapers about his disappearance. Strange 
thing ! But you must not lose your, head, Furneaux. 
You are apt to think wild, you know: said to young 
Leigh that you actually suspected me of having a 
hand in the Dix affair — and going out of your way 
to prompt Miss Elinor to secure a hat of mine, so 
that you might compare measurements with that 
motor cap which Leigh said he picked up near the 
barge. Silly ! Silly ! ” 

44 One has to test every little clew, Mr. Bagot,” 
said the detective humbly. 

44 But there is no clew when a man says the cap was 
just like his, and admits the size.” 

278 


At Close Quarters 

66 Quite true. One of my failings. No guessing, 
you see. Like to be sure.” 

“ And again, suppose I was the criminal — ha, 
ha ! ” 

“ He, he ! ” laughed Fumeaux. 

“ Supposing, then, that I killed Dix, and meant to 
steal that imaginary hundred and fifty thou’, and, 
and — well, even you can’t dream that I smashed 
Churchill to a pulp in Breconshire, yesterday ” 

44 This morning,” broke in the detective apol- 
ogetically. 

44 Well, whenever the poor man was dislocated, but, 
granted the other misdeeds, how foolish of you to 
trust yourself alone with such a desperate character, 
alone, in this unknown gallery, with a ready-made 
grave in there,” — and Bagot jerked a fat thumb 
toward the tumbledown exit , — 44 and you unarmed, 
too, for Scotland Yard men seldom carry revolvers.” 

44 It would have been foolish if I had done all that.” 

44 But here you are ! ” 

44 Yes, thus far you are right. One takes risks, 
naturally, in my profession. One is compelled to. 
I might be killed here, quite secretly — as secretly as 
Dix, or Churchill, but the difference comes in in the 
presence of Inspector Lawson and a uniformed 
constable at the only practicable outlet. They 
would wonder why a small man went in, and a 
large one came out. They would be inquisitive. In 
fact ” 

44 Pooh ! ” 


279 


By Force of Circumstances 

Bagot spread out his hands deprecatingly. 

“Pooh!” he said again. “A child would not 
reason that way. Consider, my dear Furneaux ; pray 
regard me as a malefactor at bay. What possible 
deterrent is a policeman more or less in the world? 
One shoots one, two, or three — the number is imma- 
terial — what better retreat could the shooter have than 
this very chamber? What is the result? That un- 
fortunate devil Leigh would have another deadly 
crime to explain away. Really, for a Scotland Yard 
expert, you are too trusting. Guesswork is good oc- 
casionally. It is the basis of scientific research. You 
ought to have guessed , Furneaux, that a thorough- 
bred villain would never miss such a splendid op- 
portunity. 4 How oft the means to do ill deeds ’ 

you know the rest of it. Ah, you have slipped, my 
friend, slipped to the lip of a precipice.” 

Bagot, in sheer enjoyment of his analysis of Fur- 
neaux’s error, threw out his hands again, and thrust 
them into the pockets of his overcoat. 

Leigh felt a wave of electricity in the air. He 
would have liked to observe Furneaux’s face while 
Bagot was talking, but he dared not take his eyes off 
Bagot. Something told him that Furneaux had 
really miscalculated Bagot’s daring. It was a 
Napoleonic maxim to attack when his adversaries 
thought they were safest, and Bagot had the head, 
the brain, the, force of a double-sized Napoleon. 
Whether rightly or wrongly, Leigh believed that he 
must act, and act quickly. He rose to his knees, 
280 


At Close Quarters 

drew the revolver, and peered over the edge of the 
shelf. 

“ Of course, one reports one’s movements and 
knowledge to one’s superiors,” Furneaux was say- 
ing; but Bagot only chuckled. 

“ I told Leigh you were devoid of intellect,” he 
cried, with the self-satisfied smirk of a cat watching 
the efforts of a crippled mouse to escape. “ You used 
to be a good man after a burglar, or a coiner, or 
even a commonplace murderer skulking in a London 
slum, but you were no good when pitted against a 
mind. I hate to lecture you, Furneaux, though it is 
a weakness of mine to point out these defects in my 
opponents ” 

Leigh aimed steadily at Bagot’s expanse of chest. 

“ Take your right hand out of your pocket, 
Bagot ! ” he said. “ And be sure that it is empty, or 
you drop dead ! ” 


281 


CHAPTER XIV 


bagot’s ebb tide 

Bagot looked up. Even he, the man who was either 
all nerve, or with no nervous system like unto other 
men’s, was startled. For one supreme instant his 
heart stopped beating, and his sallow cheeks blanched 
to a dreadful whiteness. 

Then he laughed gayly, waving both hands to 
Arthur. 

64 Too absurd!” he cried. “ You there! What a 
comedy ! ” 

“ Good as a play ! ” murmured Furneaux, with a 
curious break in his voice, as though he, at any rate, 
had found the humor of the situation rather overpow- 
ering. 

“ But such interruptions should not come from 
the wings, or is it the flies? ” guffawed Bagot. “ You 
spoiled a fine scene, Leigh. ... It is seldom one im- 
pales a detective on the horns of such a dilemma. 
You really ought to have permitted me to toss him 
gently for a while.” 

Though Bagot’s mirth was well assumed, Arthur, 
looking along the barrel of his pistol, saw behind that 
giggling mask the malice of a disappointed fiend. 

282 


Bagofs Ebb Tide 

He remembered once, while crouching on a kopje 
to watch a Boer commando trekking across a stream, 
that a great black snake, disturbed in its siesta, raised 
its head just in front of his sheltering rock and 
peered at him spitefully. He dared not stir then. 
The slightest movement or sound might have been 
detected by the skilled hunters among the enemy. 
After a nerve-racking moment of uncertainty, the 
snake squirmed away into a crevice and was seen no 
more. But he would never forget the reptile hatred 
of all mankind that gleamed from its beady eyes, and 
Bagot’ s sudden access of f rivolity could not altogether 
hide the diabolic scowl that rose from his very soul. 

44 Hold your hands up ! ” said Leigh coolly. 

64 My dear young friend, why change a farce into 
melodrama? ” 

44 Up, before I count three. One ! Two ! ” 

44 My turn to be roasted, I suppose,” sighed Bagot, 
raising his hands. 

44 Now, Furneaux, search him. There is a revolver 
in that right-hand pocket,” said Arthur. 

44 Capital situation ! 99 cried Furneaux, dancing 
lightly up to Bagot, but taking pains to leave the 
line of fire open from above. 44 Simply ripping! 
Make the fortune of any budding dramatist. And 
so unexpected ! . . . the very essence of stagecraft ! 
Ah, a loaded revolver, too ! ’Pon my honor, Mr. Bagot, 
I don’t know which to admire most, you *as the 
heavy villain, or Mr. Leigh in his star role as the 
valiant hero. What a pity I ain’t a girl! He! he! 

283 


By Force of Circumstances 

Not got another six-shooter in the other pocket, Mr. 
Bagot? No. . . . And, well now, I do declare, if 
this isn’t the mate of the revolver that was knocked 
out of Mr. Leigh’s hand when he fell into the 
river ! ” 

“ Another remarkable coincidence ! Motor hat, 
Exhibit A; pistol, Exhibit B; Churchill’s gas bill, 
Exhibit C. By Jove, Furneaux, if you go on in this 
fashion you’ll be thinking of arresting poor me!” 
and Bagot grinned again good-naturedly, for his eyes 
were lowered. 

“ But this is really most peculiar,” chattered Fur- 
neaux, turning the weapon round and round with the 
careful scrutiny of a collector of china examining a 
rare blue piece of the Ming dynasty. “ Same make, 
same marks, same cartridges. You have my congrat- 
ulations, Mr. Bagot. If some of my brutal colleagues 
of the Yard had this barge murder in hand they 
would arrest you at once. And that would be a pity, 
a thousand pities! You have no idea what harm a 
pair of handcuffs can effect in disturbing the true 
line of a promising inquiry — the artistic curve, I 
might call it. What is an arrest in a case like this? 
It ought to be the first step between the narrow walls 
of fact — a sort of personally conducted tour to the 
scaffold. Too often it isn’t. Suppose I grabbed you 
now, where would I be when some loud-voiced King’s 
Counsel asked me how you managed to fling the warm 
and naked body of your victim on to a barge moored 
in the Parret at an hour when a dozen credible 


284 


Bagot’s Ebb Tide 

witnesses swore you were in Chepstow, capless ? Im- 
agine me in the box, and in a nice hole, too. Pretty 
figure I’d cut. No, no, Mr. Bagot, the case against 
Mr. Leigh is ten times stronger than against you, 
yet I haven’t arrested him.” 

During this jerky monologue Furneaux’s antics 
were those of an excited ape. He seemed to be un- 
able to stand still. He whirled from the light of 
Bagot’s lantern to that of his own, twisting the re- 
volver into every conceivable position, and peering at 
it from every point of view. But once, in a pirouette, 
he glanced up at Leigh, and his quick frown seemed 
to say, “Don’t interfere — leave it to me!” 

Yet Leigh was on the very pinnacle of interfer- 
ence, not once but twice, for twice, when the detect- 
ive’s back was turned, Bagot seemed to be gather- 
ing himself for a catamount spring. It was not that 
he crouched and made taut his muscles for a mighty 
leap that should submit to the lottery of chance and 
the vault’s gloom whether or not he overcame these 
two men. There was no outward indication of the 
tiger’s rage that surged from heart to brain. He 
remained impassive, immovable, to all seeming scorn- 
ful and cynical. But magnetic rays were flowing 
from the man, and Leigh, strung to the tension of 
being judge and jury and executioner in the one fleet- 
ing instant that might decide Bagot’s life or death, 
was probably receptive of such influences to an ab- 
normal degree. Be that as it may, he twice met Ba- 
got’s calculating eye, and twice came off victor in the 
285 


By Force of Circumstances 

silent contest, for he often, and Bagot never, had 
looked death in the face and not flinched from it. 

And thus passed the most trying moments of an 
experience rich in thrills. Leigh well knew Bagot’s 
hope. Taken unaware, the diminutive detective 
might have had the revolver wrested f rom his fingers, 
and a powerful man could use his body as a shield 
during the subsequent duel. Fumeaux, oddly 
enough, appeared to be blithely unconscious of the 
risk he ran, but at last, with a quick turn of the 
wrist, he opened the revolver and shook out the six 
cartridges, which he pocketed forthwith. 

44 Dangerous things, revolvers,” he said, smiling at 
Bagot. 44 Never carried one myself. Detectives can’t 
go round shooting criminals at sight. My eye! if 
that were allowed, wouldn’t I make a record bag 
on a race day at Alexandra Park ! ” 

44 Do you propose to keep my revolver? ” asked 
Bagot. 

44 No, sir. Why should I? I only took it to pre- 
vent hot blood between you and Mr. Leigh.” 

44 Hot blood ! Mr. Leigh ! ” Bagot ceased even 
to affect surprise. He was now airily indifferent, 
though he did favor Arthur with a deprecating 
glance. 44 What quarrel is there between him and 
me? Really, now, I looked on myself somewhat in 
the light of a possible benefactor of Mr. Leigh’s.” 

44 But touching that little matter of the hidden 
money, sir ? ” 

Furneaux’s tone was amazing to Arthur. It was 
286 


Bagot’s Ebb Tide 

reproachful yet sympathetic. It conveyed the un- 
spoken question, 44 Why will you insist on such a 
disagreeable topic as between gentlemen P ” 

44 Rollaston Leigh’s money may or may not be in 
this place. If it is, it can be found only by a navvy, 
a horde of navvies, armed with pickaxes. Do you 
honestly believe, Furneaux, that I meant to tear the 
secret out of these flints with my bare fingers ? ” 

44 No imputations, sir, none whatever. Now, Mr. 
Leigh, you might come down. The passage has been 
here several hundred years, and this room looks as 
if it would last our lives out. So we can glut our 
passion for research another time. Useful type of 
lantern you’ve got there, Mr. Bagot. Circular wick 
and dioptric lens. Saw it in the Paris Exhibition.” 

Arthur solved the ticklish problem of safe descent 
by gripping the barrel of the revolver between his 
teeth and swinging the candlestick from a finger. 
He scorned to look over his shoulder lest Bagot might 
be tempted to dare a final leap. But if a self-imposed 
code of honor governed his eyes it could not close his 
ears, and he knew that the man who mixed cold- 
blooded murder with dreams of the millennium re- 
mained in the pose he had not quitted since Fur- 
neaux’s deft hands searched his clothes for concealed 
weapons. 

But an odd thing happened when Leigh faced the 
others on the pavement. Bagot eyed the pink can- 
dle; its tint, its neat volutions, seemed to fascinate 
him. 


287 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Strange ! ” he said. 44 Another coincidence, Fur- 
neaux ! Last time I saw a candle like that it adorned 
a piano in the drawing-room of the Mishe Nahma .” 

Arthur was irritated by the absurd pretense of 
both men that a meeting fraught with deadly pos- 
sibilities should be slurred over as a commonplace 
event. So he scarcely took thought ere he retorted: 

44 Not so strange. Miss Hinton gave it to 
me.” 

66 When you paid a surprise visit to 4 Nielpahar ’? ” 
asked Bagot quietly, and the younger man felt that 
he had spoken too quickly. 

44 Yes,” he said, making the best of it. 

Bagot chuckled. 

44 You poor Furneaux, how I pity you ! Here we 
have a lady and gentleman motoring to my place at 
a late hour, climbing walls, carrying ladders, equip- 
ping themselves with matches and candles, ransacking 
my empty house, and shooting at hypothetical bur- 
glars. What do you think of it? My escapade to- 
night sounds feeble in comparison. I came to the 
front door, was admitted by Jenkins, who ascertained 
that his master had gone out and allowed me to await 
his return, and I merely killed time by an antiquarian 
ramble. Honestly, Leigh, that pink candle would 
puzzle even Furneaux’s loud-voiced K.C. to explain 
it away.” 

Arthur was stung to fury by the man’s impudence. 
The memory of Elinor’s satin skin seared by this hell- 
hound’s bullets smote him like a blow in the face, and 
288 


Bagot’s Ebb Tide 

he hungered for an excuse to clutch that well-fed car- 
case and crush it in mortal struggle. His eyes 
sparkled and his bronzed forehead grew white. 

“ You d — d scoundrel ” he began, but before 

he could say another word Furneaux was holding him 
in a grip of singular force. 

“ Good gracious, Mr. Leigh, what has gone 
wrong? ” he asked. 44 Mr. Bagot meant no offense, 
not a particle . . . perfectly harmless joke . . . 
really directed against me. Now, wasn’t it, Mr. 
Bagot? There, there! What we all want is a whisky 
and soda. Nerves, nerves — they’re the curse of 
modern life. Mr. Bagot, will you be so good as to 
lead the way? Thank you, thank you. Dear me! 
One of the consolations of middle age is the power 
of ignoring lack of tact in the young.” 

And as Bagot passed silently in front, lighting the 
dark tunnel with his exhibition dioptric lens, Fur- 
neaux shook Leigh viciously, though he kept up a 
running fire of comments on the ways of monks, and 
smugglers, and the manners of the dead and gone 
squirearchy who turned a deaf ear to the blandish- 
ments of the King’s customs officers, until Bagot 
raised the bar of the panel, and stepped forth under 
the official, though none the less astonished, gaze of 
Inspector Lawson and a constable. 

Lawson, who evidently knew nothing of Bagot’s 
presence in the passage, stooped to make sure that his 
colleague w^s within. Then, having a quaint trick 
of apt expression, he said: 

289 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Well, now! if I didn’t think you’d gone an’ got 
yourself inflated with sewer gas, Mr. Furneaux.” 

Whereat Bagot laughed heartily. 

“ What a thing to say ! ” he cried. 44 Inflated 
. . . sewer gas . . . me!” and he dug a thumb 
into his well-lined ribs. 66 No, my excellent Inspector. 
I am compounded of wholesome carbon — beef — not of 
poisonous monoxide ! ” 

“ Fish is good, too ; phosphorus ; brain-forming,” 
put in Furneaux. 

“Brain? Pish!” muttered Bagot. 

44 I’d like to have a squint inside there myself if 
it’s empty now,” said the imperturbable Lawson when 
Leigh appeared in his turn. 

44 Certainly! ” cried Furneaux at once. 64 You and 
Jones just amuse yourselves by having a look round. 
Don’t hurry. We three are going to chat for half 
an hour. But mind the broken bit beyond the arched 
room. That’s dangerous. Nearly got myself en- 
tombed there by being too venturesome.” 

Leigh, though boiling with anger against Bagot, 
could not help but admire the play of innuendo as be- 
tween him and the detective. He was beginning dimly 
to appreciate Furneaux’s attitude. Bagot was not 
a mere criminal — his was a mighty mind that had 
permitted itself to give unbridled play to its criminal 
impulses. To attempt to comer such a man until 
escape was humanly impossible was to court disaster. 
Though Leigh’s stock of legal lore was but the rough 
training of the veldt, even the summary jurisdiction 
290 


Bagotfs Ebb Tide 

that permitted the hanging of a Kaffir demanded some 
show of evidence, and he knew in his heart that the 
evidence against Bagot was of the flimsiest character. 

Yet, when the three were standing in the lumber- 
room listening to the muffled steps of the policemen 
inside the passage, his gorge rose at the thought that 
he was expected to treat Bagot with civility, per- 
haps to extend some show of hospitality. He de- 
termined to have none of this pretense. 

“ If you two wish to talk, the library is at your 
disposal,” he said curtly. 

46 What is there to be said?” demanded Bagot, 
with admirable coolness. 44 For my part, I am rather 
tired. Of course, Leigh, we can drop the lease busi- 
ness until you are in a different frame of mind. May 
I have my revolver, Furneaux? You know as well 
as I do that you can buy fifty like it by making a 
round of gunsmiths’ shops in London. And I am 
really concerned about my chauffeur. He has been 
going all day and all night.” 

Furneaux handed over the weapon without a word. 
For a man with such a flow of chatter at his command 
it was odd that he should be silent at that moment. 
None spoke until they reached the hall, where a per- 
plexed and anxious Jenkins met them. 

44 If you please, sir ” he began, addressing his 

master, but glancing at Furneaux. 

44 Wait a bit, Jenkins,” said Arthur. 44 Show Mr. 
Bagot to his motor, and never again admit him here 
on any pretense whatever.” 

291 


By Force of Circumstances 

Furneaux drew his breath in between his teeth with 
the grimace of one who suffers an unexpected spasm. 

“ Too bad ! ” he murmured. 44 Quite undeserved ! 
Hope you won’t say that to me when I come to visit 
you at 4 Nielpahar,’ Mr. Bagot? ” 

Bagot shook a fat forefinger at him playfully. 

44 One never knows,” he cried. 44 Even the philo- 
sophic worm may turn. But come, come ! I may 
be in forgiving mood. Goo’ ni’, Furneaux! Mes 
adieux , Leigh ! ” 

And he was gone, his departure being announced 
by the explosions and groaning gear of the automo- 
bile in the courtyard. 

44 Now, Jenkins, what is it? ” asked Leigh. There 
was a ring of steel in his voice; the admiration he 
once felt for Bagot had turned to bitterest gall and 
loathing. 

44 Please, sir, I couldn’t keep ’em out,” said the 
butler. 

The vindictive look he gave Furneaux showed 
clearly that the plural pronoun referred exclusively 
to the agents of the law, but he was more distressed 
than ever when Leigh said: 

44 Mr. Furneaux and Inspector Lawson have my 
full permission to enter the house or grounds at any 
time, day or night, whether I am here or not. Now 
bring some whisky and soda to the library.” 

44 But, sir ” 

44 Well, out with it.” 

44 B — Banks is full, sir.” 

2p2 


Bagofs Ebb Tide 

Then Arthur laughed, and some of his spleen van- 
ished. 

44 The deuce he is! I had forgotten him. I can’t 
deal with him now. Put him to bed, and I will fire 
him in the morning.” 

66 Banks — one of your stockkeepers ? ” inquired the 
detective. 

“ Yes.” 

“ What of him? ” 

Leigh briefly told what had happened, and Fur- 
neaux pondered it. 

44 Let me tackle him,” he said, and asked Jenkins to 
see that the filling of Banks was carried to excess, 
while it would be a good thing if the hapless wretch 
were then conducted into the fresh air of the 
drive. 

46 You see, sir,” he explained to Leigh in the li- 
brary, 64 if Lawson and I find him there incapable, it 
will be for his own good if we lock him up, and he 
will be a big lump of putty when he wakes in a cell 
to-morrow morning. With your permission I shall 
leave Jones here all night.” 

While he was speaking, he went to the French 
window, unlocked it, threw both sections wide open, 
and stood there a few seconds. 

44 Why? ” asked Arthur, who deemed Jones unnec- 
essary. 

44 We are entering on the last phase of a desperate 
fight, and I mean you to take no more risks. You 
saved my life quarter of an hour ago. The least 
293 


By Force of Circumstances 

I can do in return is to insure you a night’s 
undisturbed rest.” 

44 So you thought he meant to shoot ? ” 

44 Oh, I am sure of it! Just a little bit of over- 
confidence on my part. . . . He is daring, is Bagot. 
Lawson and Jones don’t know it, but you saved them, 
too. He would have wheedled them into the passage 
and shot them without mercy — perhaps dragged all 
three of us out again so as to involve you.” 

44 But, even while you were examining the revolver, 
you were in the gravest sort of danger.” 

44 1 did that purposely. I wanted to goad him to 
it. He would not have found me unprepared; I had 
already put the mechanism out of action, and, in the 
excitement, he might have said something.” 

44 Said something? ” 

Furneaux helped himself from a decanter brought 
by Jenkins, and alternated each sip with a luxurious 
sniff at the broken cigar, which was now a mere mass 
of frayed tobacco leaves. 

44 Don’t you see, Mr. Leigh, knowledge is not 
always the same thing as proof? ” he said. 44 Now, I 
am going to take you into my confidence. You de- 
serve it, because, thanks to Miss Hinton’s influence, 
I suppose ” 

44 By Jove ! ” cried Arthur vexedly , 44 that reminds 
me. I have a letter for Bagot in my pocket.” 

44 From whom ? ” 

44 Mr. Hinton.” 

44 Where is it? ” 


294 


Bagofs Ebb Tide 

Furneaux deliberately opened the envelope and 
read aloud: 

“ Sorry, but could not carry out your wishes. 
Leigh discovered yacht’s direction, and Elinor used 
her authority. Better let things rest a few days. 
E.’s infatuation with this young fool will soon die a 
natural death. Why not have the police arrest him? 
I suppose he must have been mixed up in that murder 
on the barge ? ” 

The detective smiled. 

“ Not a flattering description of you,” he com- 
mented; “but it is fortunate for Mr. Hinton that 
this note fell into my hands, very fortunate. He, like 
the others, is a dupe, not an accomplice. His letter 
proves that. The more I see of this case the more 
marvelous does Bagot become.” 

Leigh threw himself into a chair and lit a cigar. 

“ You spoke of confidences,” he said. 

“ I should have revealed many things much sooner, 
Mr. Leigh, if you had not gone over to the enemy, 
bag and baggage, almost before war was declared,” 
said Furneaux. “ I simply dared not tell you how 
things stood. If you resisted Miss Hinton, was it 
likely that you would listen to me? Come now. 
Didn’t you tell Bagot everything? ” 

“ D — n him ! ” growled Arthur. 

“ Exactly ; I concur, as the judges say in the Court 
of Appeal. But you nearly broke my heart when 
you burnt poor Dix’s shirt. I should have taken it 
when I had the chance, but I couldn’t resist the temp- 
295 


By Force of Circumstances 

tation of seeing what you would do with it. Some- 
times, I wish I had been born in Jerusalem rather 
than Jersey. I am frivolous by nature, and you can’t 
imagine a Jerusalemite frivolous, can you? Mad 
trick, that of mine, when I brought Miss Hinton 
here, though she’s one woman in a thousand. You 
can’t scare her. She only tittered when the ex- 
tinguisher fell off her candlestick that night on the 
wooden steps, and I warned her that the noise might 
arouse you. And where is the lady who would be 
wounded, as she was at 6 Nielpahar,’ and say noth- 
ing about it, just to spite Bagot ” 

66 Ah, you saw ? ” 

“ I try to see everything, Mr. Leigh.” 

“By the way, did you write that?” and Arthur 
produced the note about the inquest, with its totem 
signature of a man smelling a cigar. 

The detective grinned appreciatively. 

“ No,” he said. “ It seems to annoy Bagot, this 
habit of mine.” 

“ Well, I shall not interrupt you again.” 

The detective curled himself on the divan with legs 
crossed a la Turque. 

“ Bagot was acquainted with your grandfather, 
and, from what knowledge you now possess of his 
methods, Mr. Leigh, you will admit that an old gen- 
tleman with a bee in his bonnet would have little 
chance of keeping his affairs secret from such an in- 
telligence — kindly regard that word as beginning 
with a capital I. But Bagot was too shrewd to visit 
296 


Bagofs Ebb Tide 

the Abbey in those days. He induced Mr. Rollaston 
Leigh to drive to 4 Nielpahar,’ secretly, on the plea 
of consulting him about an invention. I learnt that 
fact from the man who drove him there, and I am in- 
clined to think that your grandfather narrowly es- 
caped with his life, solely because of the cunning that 
prompted him to hide the money he received from Dix 
and Churchill. That Bagot was aware of the nego- 
tiations with the mortgagees is certain — he may even 
have suggested them — as he invited both members of 
the firm to 4 Nielpahar 9 at different times, and en- 
tertained them lavishly, leaving no doubt in their 
minds that when the then owner of the Abbey died 
he would be in the market as a prospective purchaser 
of the estate. How he induced Dix to visit him on 
the 9th of this month I do not know. Perhaps he 
met him at Oxford . . . can’t say yet. I imagine 
he ascertained that poor Dix would not be party to 
any underhand dealings. At any rate, he had some 
good reason for murdering him, because Bagot, and 
none other, put the unfortunate man’s body on the 
barge, and, were it not for your definite testimony 
as to time, I should have been forced to arrest Bagot 
next day. Don’t you see, I couldn’t, in the teeth of 
your evidence and the Chepstow alibi, which Bagot 
took care to bring to the ears of the police. I believe 
you , but I am not satisfied with the Chepstow yarn, 
and a colleague is at work there now. I may have 
news from him any day. But one thing is sure. If 
Bagot had been safe under lock and key, Churchill 
297 


* 

By Force of Circumstances 

would be alive now. It was Churchill’s dead body 

that you and Miss Hinton saw in the house ” 

“ I cannot help it,” cried Arthur, springing up 

excitedly, 44 but you said ” 

44 Will you oblige me by sitting quite still? ” said 
Fumeaux. 44 Thank you, I can talk and listen, but 
I cannot listen if others are moving about. Yes, I 
told Bagot that Churchill’s corpse had been found 
on a Breconshire mountain early to-day. That is 
true. He was fully dressed, and letters and cards in 
his pockets proved his identity, while his face was not 
battered out of recognition. In a word, the manner 
of his death seemed to differ completely from that of 
his partner, — seemed to differ, I put it, — to my mind 
the plan is identical. It is changed only in unessen- 
tial details, because it was intended that Churchill 
should be recognized, whereas Dix was meant to dis- 
appear absolutely. But both men were killed by gar- 
roting; a bleak hill and a deserted barge on a river 
are equally vague and mysterious places for the dis- 
posal of their mangled bodies. Mark that, they were 
not only choked — the bullet found in Dix was an 
after thought — but crushed, their very bones smashed. 
Do you remember Inspector Lawson’s simile about the 
snake? Well, the carcase of a goat or small deer 
crushed by a python would very closely resemble the 
condition of the bodies of these two doomed men. And 
I could have saved Churchill! That gravels me! 
Oh, I shall never forgive myself for that! ” 

A curiously bitter tone had crept into the detect- 
298 


Bagofs Ebb Tide 

ive’s voice. Leigh was almost sure there were tears 
in his eyes. But, howsoever keen might be Fur- 
neaux’s distress, his ears were alert. He heard Law- 
son and the constable opening and closing the panel 
door quite as soon as Arthur caught the same sounds. 
He did not speak again until the two policemen were 
passing the library. 

“ Come in here ! ” he cried. 44 Sit down, please. If 
you want a drink, don’t use the soda siphon.” 

“ What’s the matter with the soda ? ” asked Leigh. 

44 Nothing. It’s the fizzing I object to. I want to 
hear .” 

“ Hear what?” 

44 Bagot’s motor. The engine stopped before he 
was clear of the wood. It has not started again. I 
want to know when it does start.” 

44 Funny place, that passage,” said Lawson, fixing 
his heavy gaze on Leigh. 

44 It has its humors,” admitted Leigh, smiling at 
Fumeaux, and tacitly allowing the detective’s ex- 
traordinary story to be deferred in the telling. 

44 1 mean the walled-up end,” continued Lawson. 
44 1 was a stonemason myself before I joined the force. 
That wall was built from the other side.” 

Somehow, this trivial fact seemed to galvanize 
Fumeaux into a new activity. Down came his legs, 
and he swung into his favorite attitude, hands on 
knees, and head held forward eagerly. 

44 Are you sure? 99 he asked. 

44 Positive.” 


299 


By Force of Circumstances 

u How do you know? ” 

44 I can tell by the finish. It’s amatoor work, an’ 
built in the dark.” 

44 Lawson,” said Furneaux impressively, 66 and you, 
too, Jones, not a word of this to anybody.” 

Lawson replied by emptying his glass in silence. 
Jones was evidently moved to follow the example of 
his superior, the only difference being that he 
gurgled. 

Jenkins came. His face was gray and wrinkled. 

66 1 really don’t know about Banks, sir,” he ex- 
plained. 44 He’s paralytic.” 

44 Where is he now? ” asked Furneaux. 

44 Lying on the grass, a few yards beyond the 
court.” 

44 Leave him there. And don’t wait up for us, 
Jenkins. Mr. Leigh will let us out. See that all your 
bolts are in good order.” 

Jenkins withdrew, and the detective turned to 
Arthur. 

44 You look tired, sir,” he said. 44 Take my advice, 
and go to bed.” 

44 But what of you? ” cried Arthur, who was 
genuinely surprised by this sudden change of 
plan. 

44 We will remain here, for some hours at least. I 
was quite in earnest when I said we must shun need- 
less risks. Bagot’s car has not stirred from the cover 
of the wood. He is waiting until our dogcart, which 
he saw in the courtyard, is on the Bridgewater road. 

300 


Bagot’s Ebb Tide 

Once there, we might be mixed up in an accident. It 
is a dark night, and the trees add to the gloom. With 
your permission, Mr. Leigh, Inspector Lawson and 
I will sit here with Jones until Bagot makes up his 
mind to join his friends at Pinkerton’s.” 


301 


CHAPTER XV 


WHEREIN FURNEAUX THINKS HE HAS CAUGHT BAGOT 

Leigh set himself no mental limit for sleep 
that night. He was roused by the bright sun 
pouring in through a southeast window, and, 
after a dreamy moment of unbelief, realized that the 
hour was nearly ten o’clock. He dressed hurriedly, 
and found a strange policeman showing an almost 
professional interest in the flower garden. This man 
had relieved Constable Jones; he said that Furneaux 
and Lawson had returned to Bridgewater at S a.m. ; 
then Leigh gave his mind to breakfast. 

He half expected and wholly hoped that there 
might be a note from Elinor. That she shared his 
views in this important matter was demonstrated by 
a dainty little missive brought by Jenkins when 
Arthur was in the second-cup-of-coffee stage. 

66 My dear Arthur,” — it ran — “ Why no letter ? 
Or is it that there was no post to Burnham after 
your return home last night ? I suppose the explana- 
tion is prosaic, but dry-as-dust Postal regulations are 
sorry substitutes when one hungers for news. And 
what of Furneaux? Is he alive? One is moved to 
ask that after a visit to ‘ Nielpahar.’ And did 
302 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

Bagot really call for his letter? Mr. Hinton is 
furiously angry with the messenger whom you de- 
spoiled. If you are not free to come to the yacht at 
once, do send a line quickly to say that all is well, 
and that you will be here — when? With love, Elinor.” 

He laughed blithely. What a change had come 
over his fortunes in twenty-four hours ! He could not 
help seeing that the words 44 with love ” had been 
squeezed in after Elinor had signed her name. He 
pictured her as she wrote them, smiling, blushing, 
arching eyebrows at herself. 

44 Young man waiting on a bicycle, sir,” said Jen- 
kins, staccato, catching his master’s eye. 

44 Sounds like the name of a Red Indian,” chuckled 
Leigh. Then, while Jenkins was puzzling his gray 
head to discover the bearing of a somewhat obscure 
joke, Arthur dashed to the writing table and scribbled 
a line: 

44 Dear One : Ructions here last night. Coming 
as fast as a Three Tuns hack will carry me. With 
more love, Arthur.” 

44 There,” he said to J enkins, 44 give that to young- 
man-waiting-on-a-bicycle, hand him this half-crown, 
and ask him to ride on to the village, order a carriage 
for me at the gallop, and then scorch back to the 
Mishe Nahma.” 

44 To where, sir? ” gasped the butler. 

44 To Miss Hinton’s yacht. And, by the way, Jen- 
kins, you were a true prophet. Miss Hinton is the 
Belle Damosel of the ballad. If all goes well, she will 
303 


By Force of Circumstances 

soon give point to the Abbot’s rhyme. What do you 
think of that, you hoary-headed tipster ? ” 

“ I knew it, sir ! I said to Eliza ” 

46 Eliza said to you, you mean. Why, man, I 
hadn’t been in the house five minutes before she was 
marrying me to the 4 pick of the county.’ Well, I 
don’t want to be disloyal to Somersetshire, but if 
there’s a finer girl than Elinor between Avon and Lynn 
I’ll eat my hat. Now, Jenkins, tell the warrior at the 
door to get a hustle on. The first minute I have to 
spare I must buy a couple of nags and a dogcart.” 

From which jubilant and disconnected remarks it 
may safely be assumed that Arthur Leigh was by no 
means convinced that the preceding day’s events were 
all one amazing dream, though in his calmer moments, 
he might reasonably have feared that he had been 
wool-gathering during some part of the time. 

For, as he ate, and glanced out occasionally at the 
policeman admiring the roses and masses of blue 
delphiniums, he could not help marveling at the tid- 
ings conveyed by the cut-and-thrust argument in the 
vault between Bagot and the detective. Both men, 
so shrewd, so wise, held the theory that somewhere in 
that dismal crypt were hidden Bank of England notes 
to the value of one hundred and fifty thousand 
pounds. If that surmise were true, then he, the 
outcast soldier of fortune, was endowed with wealth 
enough to render marriage with Elinor Hinton not 
quite so fantastic. 

But the presence of the man in uniform reminded 
304 


Furneauoc Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

him, too, that the peaceful country-side which har- 
bored so much mystery, was still tenanted by one 
whose misdeeds promised to provide a national sen- 
sation. 

Furneaux had roundly charged Bagot with two 
terrible murders, and hinted at other crimes having 
enlisted the attention of the authorities long before 
the body of the hapless Dix was flung on to the 
deck of the barge. Then, had not Bagot striven to 
slay Elinor and Leigh himself, contemplated the kill- 
ing of the detective and his companions, and, even 
when he must have known that he was more than sus- 
pected, lurked in ambush, as it were, for hours, in 
expectation of a chance of sweeping out of existence 
his most dangerous opponent? When ultimately he 
made off, he could not fail to understand that Fur- 
neaux had read his intent. What would he do now? 
Brave it out — perhaps beat the law. 

“ Anyhow ! ” cried Arthur suddenly, “ hang 
Bagot ! 99 

A young man in love, his heart surging in unison 
with the joy of a sunlit morning in summer, is not 
prone to indulge in rancorous thoughts of slaughter, 
yet Leigh found it hard to be glad that some overt 
word or act had not permitted him to rid the world 
of a pest. How just was Elinor’s estimate of the 
man ! 66 A plague ... a canker in the age,” she 

had described him. Truly, the ex-professor of 
anthropology at Harvard University had devoted his 
study of mankind to an evil end. 

305 


By Force of Circumstances 

A second time did Arthur 44 hang Bagot 55 by in- 
terjection ere he succeeded in freeing his mind of a 
disagreeable topic. Then he joined the policeman in 
the garden, and listened to a well-informed and thor- 
oughly appreciative lecture on his own shrubs and 
plants. He was jotting down the names of some new 
climbing roses when he heard a carriage approaching. 

To save time, he opened the Abbot’s Port, and 
darted out. 

44 Capital!” chirped a familiar voice from the in- 
terior of the vehicle. 44 I took the liberty of using 
the fly you ordered. You haven’t got that revolver 
in your pocket? No? Well, run and fetch it. I 
want to try an experiment ! ” 

Greatly as Leigh now appreciated the detective’s 
assistance, he would gladly have avoided him at that 
special moment. You see, Elinor was waiting, and 
would be expecting him, and what more pressing en- 
gagement could he have than that? 

Something of his thought must have darkened his 
face, because Furneaux continued sarcastically: 

44 It’s all right, Mr. Leigh. I told your messenger 
that I was coming, too, — accompanying you, in 
fact.” 

Whereupon Arthur ran, secured the revolver from 
his dressing-table, and was by the detective’s side in 
the carriage in two minutes. Though inured to cam- 
paigning, he could not help marveling at Fumeaux’s 
air of alertness. 

“ You seem to thrive on excitement,” he said. 44 To 
306 


Furneauoo Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

my certain knowledge you have been up early and 
late every day for a week, yet each time I see you you 
seem to be more — spry, shall I call it? ” 

“ Call it what you like. It means that I am hot 
on the scent. When Bagot is safely lodged in Taun- 
ton prison, with only three clear Sundays between 
him and eternity, I shall take a long rest. Till then 
I shall be busy. This is the most remarkable case 
I have ever been engaged in. It has elements almost 
of the supernatural. In fact, I shall hate to think 
of Bagot hanging. The man ought to be preserved, 
and made to write his ideas. He is a wonder.” 

When Furneaux talked in that fashion his brain 
was usually engaged on some topic wholly foreign 
to his discourse. To-day he was comparing the three 
cartridges he had extracted from the revolver with 
three others taken from his pocket. He fitted the 
two sets carefully into the different chambers of the 
cylinder, took them out, peered at them through a 
magnifying glass, rubbed one of each lot with a hand- 
kerchief, stretched the linen tight, and scrutinized 
the dirt deposited on it, and generally displayed the 
deepest professional interest in what was, after all, 
an ordinary weapon and regulation shells. 

“ That fellow Banks was a great find of yours,” he 
said unexpectedly, turning to his companion in the 
jerky manner that always seemed to take unawares 
the person addressed. 

“ By gad, I had forgotten him! Did you pick 
him up, then?” cried Arthur. 

307 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Yes. He was a miserable object. Your butler 
evidently understands the right essence for 4 filling ’ 
persons of the Banks type. After a heavy dew it 
was cold lying out there on the grass, so when Banks 
woke up, and found himself in Lawson’s dogcart, he 
wept, and offered to tell us everything.” 

44 What was there to tell ? ” 

44 Banks has been in Bagot’s pay during the past 
five months. Bagot believed that your grandfather 
hid his money in the Dogs’ Home, which he termed 
the 4 Place of Sojourn’; our stout friend has been 
hunting there regularly to hit upon the cache . Per- 
sonally, I believe that Lawson stumbled on to the 
clew last night. You will find, I imagine, that your 
grandfather himself walled up the end of the pas- 
sage, which in former times had its entrance in the 
oldest part of the building, that which now forms the 
rear of the house. So Bagot was really right, but 
he neither knew of the secret passage nor possessed 
the key given us by Lawson. Poor Dix had a copy 
of the plan among his papers — which was of the 
utmost importance, though the door in the panel 
is more or less of a blind, as the walled-up section 
can be reached quite as easily from the 4 Place of 
Sojourn ’ as from any other locality ” 

44 My grandfather would never allow me to go in- 
side — the fact that I found my dog there was his 
chief grievance against me. And to think that I 
have never so much as visited the place since I came 
home ! ” 


308 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

Arthur paused. He had suddenly recollected 
something. 

“ By J ove ! ” he went on eagerly, “ I was actually on 
my way to it when I heard Miss Hinton shriek ” 

“ Shriek ! Why? And when?” 

“ That day she was captured by the motorist.” 

“ What motorist ? ” 

Then Leigh felt the “ pins and needles ” sensation 
of one who has blundered into a disclosure. Perhaps 
Elinor had never told the detective her true motive 
in seeking the frustration of Bagot. She would nat- 
urally shrink from exposing the weakness or folly of 
her stepfather and his son. Indeed, this must be so, 
or she would not have asked him to keep the kid- 
naping incident hidden, as it was absurd to suppose 
that Furneaux would withhold such an important fact 
from his uniformed colleagues. 

“ If you will pardon me,” he said simply, “ 1 will 
not go any further in that matter. You will be 
seeing Miss Hinton. Please leave the necessary ex- 
planation to her.” 

<fi Has it anything to do with that ass of a step- 
brother of hers ? ” asked Furneaux dryly. 

“ Well, yes.” Leigh laughed constrainedly. 
There was little use in endeavoring to burke a fact 
where this all-knowing brain was concerned. 

66 Oh, as for him,” was the contemptuous comment, 
“ he would blow the top of his head off if Bagot said 
it would be a good notion. Of course, I made it my 
business early in the game to ascertain who was who 
309 


By Force of Circumstances 

in the Hinton household. Miss Hinton is a young 
lady of generous impulses, but we in the Yard can- 
not afford to let ourselves be swayed in that fashion. 
So Master Harry was carrying off his sister when 
you fired at him; or was it at the motor?” 

“ Do oblige me this once by sticking to Banks,” 
pleaded Arthur. 

“ Ah, Banks ! He is important only in so far as 
he proves motive. Bagot found that he could, not 
probe the Abbey’s resources without a pickax — 
he said so quite candidly, you remember — it is 
Bagot’s candor that makes him a particularly difficult 
kind of criminal. That is why he wanted to lease 
the place. You know, of course, that a partner in 
Mowle and Mowle is waiting at Bristol to see both 
Bagot and you, but what you do not know is that 
long before your steamer called at Madeira on the 
way to England, I was in communication with your 
solicitors, and with Dix and Churchill, too. Of 
course, I suspected rascality, but I never dreamed of 
murder, and I cannot account now for Churchill’s 
trusting himself with Bagot. He was specifically 
warned. It is incomprehensible. Yet I ought to 
have saved him. I am bitter against Bagot for that, 
very bitter.” 

Meanwhile he seemed to have finished with the 
cartridges. 

“ Here,” he said, handing one to Arthur, “ you are 
versed in firearms, Mr. Leigh. What has happened 
to that brass case?” 


310 


Furneauoc Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

“ It has been in water,” was the prompt reply. 
“ As it was left in its chamber until dry, a small 
amount of verdigris has formed.” 

“ Exactly. Bagot is ever an artist. He did 
really send you the actual weapon you dropped into 
the Par ret. Someone heard the splash when it fell, 
and reasoned the revolver.” 

“But how was it recovered?” 

“ By the use of a fisherman’s landing-net* A little 
deduction of my own, that — an inference from the 
presence of river-weeds and mud droppings on the 
grass. Ah, Mr. Leigh, if only you had gone to 
Inspector Lawson that night, we might have caught 
Bagot’s fisherman red-handed next dawn.” 

“ Why not Bagot himself? ” 

“ He is a bird of the night. He never acts by 
day. His size makes him too conspicuous. Moreover, 
he was at Chepstow. No, I am inclined to think that 
the Frenchman, Gustave, was his deputy there — in- 
nocently, perhaps. For one thing, the thick-witted 
fellow speaks no English, and Bagot spoke French 
that night over the telephone. For another, I ques- 
tion if the gang at Pinkerton’s ever look at a news- 
paper. It is more than probable the minor culprits 
are not aware of any murder in this locality.” 

“ Gang ! ” echoed Arthur. 

“ There are four of them. Bagot is the archdruid ; 
Harry Hinton and a man named Petersen, a mad 
Swedish inventor, are the bards ; Gustave is an ovate. 
Have you ever been in Wales?” 

311 


By Force of Circumstances 

Arthur was somewhat mystified by the detective’s 
jerky method of conveying information, but he con- 
tented himself with merely saying, 66 No.” 

“ Then you don’t know the language of the 
Eisteddfod? Well, you are visiting the Welsh bor- 
der this afternoon.” 

“ x? ” 

44 Yes, all of us, on board the Mishe Nahma, un- 
less I am greatly mistaken. Ah, I wish you hadn’t 
burnt that shirt.” 

44 And I wish you would tell me what you are driv- 
ing at.” 

44 All in good time. You are too honest for my 
profession, Mr. Leigh. You blurt things out. You 
act on impulse. You wear your heart on your 
sleeve.” 

44 Open as the day, quite candid, babble like a 
baby,” quoted Arthur. 

44 If you would substitute the harmless smell of 
tobacco for the noxious habit of swallowing its rank 
juices you would soon acquire the best of my tricks,” 
said Furneaux gravely, pocketing the revolver and 
producing the mangled remains of a cigar. 

He began at once to enlighten Leigh as to the 
effect of nicotine on the brain, and showed that he 
was an enthusiastic believer in the Tolstoy cult. But 
he showed, too, that he meant to discuss Bagot no 
further just then, because the lecture did not end 
until they were nearing the gangway of the 
Mishe Nahma , when Arthur was too obviously watch- 
312 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagoi 

in g for the smiles of a waiting Elinor to pay heed 
to theories on narcotic poisoning. 

Fumeaux left them at once. He had business with 
Mr. Hinton, he said. He came back for a moment 
soon after arriving on board, and asked Elinor to 
give instructions for the yacht’s immediate departure 
for Lydney, a town on the other side of the channel, 
and a long way from Burnham. Leigh noticed that 
she did not even ask a reason. She obeyed at once. 
Evidently Elinor’s faith in Furneaux was of the 
variety that moves either mountains or yachts. 

The four met at luncheon. Hinton looked pale 
and worried, but no word was said that had the re- 
motest bearing on the topic that filled their thoughts 
to the exclusion of all others. A three hours’ run at 
full speed brought them to a pier from which Lydney 
is distant a couple of miles. There an inspector of 
police met them, and they walked to the railway sta- 
tion, which is much nearer the coast than the town. 

Hinton, whose uneasiness was palpably on the in- 
crease, accompanied them, and was a silent auditor 
of a curious conversation that took place in the sta- 
tion master’s office. 

44 This is the man,” said the local inspector, point- 
ing to a ruddy-faced porter who was young enough 
to retain a degree of intelligence. 

44 Ah ! ” purred Furneaux, regarding the porter 
quizzically, 44 a good deal depends on you, my friend. 
Now, take time before you answer my questions; if 
you don’t know a thing, don’t be afraid to say so. 

313 


By Force of Circumstances 

Were you on duty here at 10 :30 p.m. on the evening 
of the 9th ? ” 

46 Yes, sir,” was the immediate reply. 

46 Slow, now, slow and sure. How do you pick out 
the evening of the 9th from any other evening, say 
that of the 8th or 10th? ” 

44 Easy enough, sir. I wur married on the 11th, 
an’ off duty on the 10th, ’avin’ a final bust up. Not 
only that, but on the 9th there wur a 4 special ’ to 
Chepstow an’ Newport at 10:35.” 

44 Excellent. On the evening of the 9th, then, — 
your last official night of single-blessedness — you were 
closing the doors of the departing 4 special ’ when a 
gentleman drove up in a farmer’s market cart, hur- 
ried into the station, and made for the train without 
a ticket? ” 

44 Yes, sir.” 

44 Describe him.” 

The porter, of course, ran his fingers through his 
hair in the effort to set his wits in order. 

44 Well, sir,” he said hesitatingly, 44 he wur a tall, 
stout gentleman, very pleasant spoken, clean shaved 
. . . I’d swear to him anywhere.” 

44 Let me help you. Though of heavy build, did 
he walk nimbly? Had he bushy eyebrows, and large 
features, with a lot of little wrinkles stretching away 
from the comers of his ej^es? ” 

44 That’s him, sir.” 

44 How was he dressed ? ” 

44 Wore a leather coat, sir, but ordinary trousers, 
314 


Furneauoc Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

black, I think, or dark, anyways, an 5 he had no 
hat.” 

“ You shut him into a carriage? ” 

“ Yes, sir, an’ he axed me to tell the guard that he 
would get out at Chepstow, where he would pay, there 
bein’ no time to buy a ticket here.” 

“ Thank you. Sure you would recognize him 
again ? ” 

“ Quite sure, sir.” 

“ I have the farmer here, too,” said the police 
officer. 

A somewhat similar dialogue ensued between Fur- 
neaux and a weather-beaten old man who said that 
he lived on the border of the Forest of Dean. The 
only material addition to his clear identification of 
Bagot was that the gentleman had called at his farm 
and asked him to supply a conveyance for himself 
and a heavy parcel to Lydney Station. 

“ It fair beat me, it did, how him and his parcel 
kem to be on my land,” said the farmer. “ A big 
basket it was, all full of clothes, I think, but it was 
covered with a waterproof sheet. Pie couldn’t have 
carried it, that I’ll be bound, because it took both of 
us all our time to lift it into the cart. But he paid 
well; oh, yes, I’ll admit he paid like a prince.” 

“ And what became of the parcel? ” 

“ He gev’ me the money to book it to Taunton by 
passenger train.” 

“ Any name? ” 

“ Yes, sir. Pinkerton, Taunton — that’s it.” 

315 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 You would know the gentleman again if you saw 
him? ” 

44 By gum, I think so. Looked like a bishop, he 
did, for all his leather coat an’ bare head.” 

44 He asked you to say nothing about the adventure, 
I believe? ” 

44 Well, yes, sir, that’s true. But Mr. Williams 
here, and another gentleman, from Lunnon he said he 
was, pressed me so hard that I had to speak. Fair 
scart, I was, when they said as how there might ha’ 
bin a dead body in the basket.” 

44 That was my colleague’s humor,” smiled Fur- 
neaux, but the old man saw no fun in the idea, and 
said so emphatically. 

44 Are you going on to Chepstow, Mr. Furneaux ? ” 
asked Inspector Williams, when the Lydney inquisition 
seemed to be at an end. 

44 Yes, I have to pick up my assistant there.” 

44 By train? ” 

44 No, he will be waiting for the yacht at the 
mouth of the Wye. You will have all the witnesses in 
readiness when I want them — probably a week from 
to-morrow.” 

* 44 Yes, you can depend on that.” 

44 Why, 4 a week from to-morrow’?” asked 
Arthur. 

44 Because at an early hour to-morrow I shall arrest 
the murderer of your two mortgagees, Mr. Leigh,” 
said Furneaux quietly, but there was a sense of 
finality in his voice that told three of his hearers, 
316 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

at least, how completely he had fastened the chain of 
circumstantial evidence round Bagot. 

Elinor would certainly have asked for enlighten- 
ment were it not for a smothered exclamation from 
her stepfather. He was pale — there was a panic- 
stricken expression in his eyes — and he seemed to be 
on the verge of collapse. The girl sprang to his 
side and caught him in her strong arms. Her first 
words were a reproach, though not to the cowering 
man who would have fallen were she not holding him. 

“Oh, why did you insist on his being present?” 
she asked, looking accusingly at Furneaux. 

“ I could not help it, Miss Hinton, indeed I could 
not,” he muttered. “ He had to be convinced. I 
told him everything, yet he refused to credit my 
statement. What would you have me do? This 
affair has gone beyond all bounds. Mr. Hinton had 
to know the risk he ran if he continued to assist 
Bagot in any way. I am only a police officer, and 
there comes a period in criminal investigation when 
one must consider the ends of justice, not private 
sentiment.” 

Furneaux was deeply moved or he would not have 
made this appeal. Leigh did not interfere. He was 
now only too certain that the unhappy iron-master, 
in realizing how he had been duped by an unscrupu- 
lous genius, was beginning to fear the consequences 
of the threatened disclosure. He helped Elinor to 
place the almost insensible man on a seat, ran to 
a neighboring inn for brandy, and succeeded in 
317 


By Force of Circumstances 

pouring a small quantity of the spirit down Hin- 
ton’s throat. 

In a few minutes the iron-master recovered suf- 
ficiently to be placed in a carriage and driven to the 
pier. He was then able to walk on board the Mishe 
Nahma and go to his cabin, whence he did not emerge 
until the incidents that set all England agog with 
amazement next day were almost forgotten. 

For chance took a hand in the shaping of events 
in such fashion that even a Scotland Yard expert 
could not control them. 

When Furneaux announced his intention to arrest 
Bagot “ at an early hour to-morrow morning,” he 
spoke the literal truth. He meant to surround the 
Pinkerton mansion, where Bagot had mostly resided 
of late, with a cordon of police soon after midnight, 
effect an entrance with the aid of a servant whom he 
had half bribed, half threatened, into collusion, and 
pounce on Bagot while that wary person was asleep. 
He had good reasons for planning an arrest in that 
manner. He was firmly convinced now that Bagot 
would not face a trial. Leigh’s change of attitude 
during the scene in the vault would have warned 
Bagot of the abyss. His strong, domineering char- 
acter would resent the ignominy of a cell, of the 
gaping court, and of the scaffold. No; Furneaux 
knew that Bagot’s first effort would be given to de- 
stroying the man who had solved his deadly riddle, 
and then he would take his own life. So fixed was 
this assumption in the detective’s mind that his con- 
318 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

stant thought was to lull Bagot into the belief that 
he was safe until the chain of evidence was so linked 
together that his capture could be achieved unexpect- 
edly. The only practicable way now was to carry 
out a surprise, and something of the kind would have 
been attempted had not the Mishe Nahma , in swing- 
ing away from a pier below Chepstow, run her nose 
on to a sandbank. The tide was falling, her engines 
were at full speed, and she was irretrievably caught 
there until the tide rose again some nine hours later. 

Those nine hours made a tremendous difference. 
The accident happened at six o’clock, and, in regard 
to speedy means of communication, the county of 
Monmouth is far more detached from the opposite 
coast of Somersetshire than Dover from Calais. A 
deserted estuary and long stretches of sand or soft 
mud offer a barrier always difficult to surmount, at 
times impassable. 

Some time was lost in the endeavor to warp the 
yacht off into deep water. When that expedient 
failed, Furneaux asked how the railway would serve: 
here he was balked again, because the next train 
through the Severn tunnel reached Bristol too late 
to connect with the last train to Bridgewater. In 
a word, there was nothing to be done but wait for the 
tide ; Leigh, whose acquaintance with the district was 
that of the yachtsman, tried to console the detective 
with stories of craft belated in both the main stream 
and the tidal rivers running into it. 

66 If you stick fast on one of these sandspits when 
319 


By Force of Circumstances 

the channel is emptying itself with the speed of a mill- 
race, you are absolutely helpless,” he said. 44 One 
can’t even swim ashore until the slack. The only 
resource is to have a balloon on deck, already inflated. 
Have you a balloon, Elinor? ” he went on, turning to 
the girl, for these two did not chafe under the in- 
fliction like Furneaux. 

44 The wind is blowing the wrong way,” she re- 
plied ; 44 otherwise I would ask Martin : he generally 
produces everything I want at exactly the right 
moment.” 

44 It is blowing the right way for Bagot,” growled 
the detective, who was more troubled by the mishap 
than they could guess. 44 It blew in this direction 
when Bagot threw Dix’s body out of a balloon at 
Bridgewater, and the guide-rope twice knocked you 
off your feet, Mr. Leigh. And it was blowing this 
way yesterday morning, when Churchill’s corpse was 
flung on to a Brecon hill by some such devilish con- 
trivance.” 

44 Oh ! ” cried Elinor in bewilderment, and her shrill 
exclamation drowned the stronger phrase that Leigh 
blurted out. Furneaux’s retort explained so much. 
It illumined the dark places of the mystery as a gleam 
of lightning makes clear a pathway through trees on 
a midnight of storm and gloom. 

44 A balloon ! ” gasped Leigh. The significance of 
the double trail of the giant snake in the barley- 
field and at 44 Nielpahar ” became evident. 44 Why 
didn’t I think of that before? ” 


320 


Furneaux Thinks He Has Caught Bagot 

44 Because many a true word is spoken in jest,” 
said Furneaux bitterly. 44 I am going ashore in that 
boat, Miss Hinton. I shall return in good time for 
the crossing. Meanwhile, I must keep the telegraph 
wires busy.” 

46 Why is he so angry? ” whispered Elinor. 64 We 
shall be at Burnham shortly after daybreak. Surely 
the lapse of a few hours cannot be vital to his plans ! ” 

44 Furneaux is not angry — he is afraid, sweet- 
heart.” 

44 Afraid of what?” 

44 Lest Bagot may escape.” 

44 But he said he meant to arrest him to-morrow.” 

44 Furneaux veils his meanings. He never acts in 
the way you expect him to act. But I am getting 
glimpses of his methods, and you may be certain that 
he is very, very doubtful of laying hands on Bagot 
now. I wonder why ? ” 


321 


CHAPTER XVI 


bagot’s flight 

Now, for the first time, while she watched the 
gloaming from the deck of the Mishe Nahma — which 
handsome craft, by the way, rested on an even keel 
and was in no danger of careening — Elinor heard the 
full story of Leigh’s strange adventure on the bank 
of the Par ret. 

“ A balloon was the one thing that never crossed 
my mind,” he said. “ I am ashamed to confess that 
I thought of fiends and gnomes and the elfin shapes 
that terrified one’s childhood, but never orce did I 
think of a balloon. Somehow, it seems to be so opposed 
to Bagot’s huge bulk. One pictures the man drawn 
by strong horses or high-powered motors rather than 
sailing through the air.” 

“ Is that his invention ? ” mused Elinor. 

“ Hardly an invention. Ballooning is old enough. 
But there ! Now I see ! Bagot is so heavy that when 
Dix’s weight was added he was unable to cross the 
channel after the ascent from the grounds at 4 Niel- 
pahar.* Oh, blind that I was! That big shed in 
the grounds is where he has a gas-making plant, and 
that is why he would not allow Furneaux to go 

within and search for the body of the man ” 

322 


Bagofs Flight 

66 Please don’t talk of it,” said Elinor, shuddering. 
66 1 — touched — him. Twice last night I awoke in a 
fright, for I dreamed of him and saw his face.” 

People who themselves have not borne the infliction 
of disturbing dreams are always ready to offer sciem 
tific sympathy. 

66 What actually happened was that you moved 
your injured arm and felt a twinge,” said Arthur. 
“ Dreams endure but a second or two, you know. But 
picture to yourself the tragedy of that night by the 
river — Bagot’s oath when he found the trail rope 
dragging — the blow it struck me — the falling of 
his hat overboard while he was striving to disentangle 
the corpse from the rigging. . . . Perhaps it de- 
fied him for a time, mocked grimly at his efforts. 
Then, when I went on board the barge, and the rope 
swung against the plank, knocking it from under 
my feet, cannot you see Bagot, white-faced, perspir- 
ing, peering over the side of the car to discover who 
it was that shouted defiance to the unseen assailant? 
He would wait, still as a mouse, conscious that the 
balloon was slowly settling, probably revolver in 
hand, ready to shoot. Then he heard me fall, and 
with one supreme wrench he flung the body clear, 
and it crashed down, while the balloon bounded a 
couple of thousand feet skywards as if it were glad 
to be rid of the token of a crime.” 

“ Oh, don’t be horrid ! ” cried Elinor. “ You make 
my flesh creep. Do let us find something else to 
discuss.” 


328 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 But how inexplicable that in searching poor 
Dix’s clothes for documents he should have missed the 
plan of the secret passage,” said Arthur, knowing 
full well that no striving would take their minds off 
Bagot that night. 

44 Mr. Furneaux said it was in a hidden pocket — 
*• in a waistcoat — where men often carry paper money. 
And it was dark, with a strong wind blowing, and 
gusts of rain. He must have crossed up there, high 
up in the dark sky. What a man ! Arthur, dear, 
do you believe the police will really be able to lock 
him up in some strong prison where he will never 
again be able to do us any harm? ” 

She was nervous and distraught. Leigh began to 
reassure her and tried now to divert her thoughts to 
the thrilling, but less ghastly, incidents of the 
previous night. It was too late. Despite her own 
protest, Elinor’s imagination was busy with that eerie 
flight of the balloon across an arm of the sea to the 
Forest of Dean. 

44 How about Churchill?” she asked suddenly. 
44 Bagot did not carry him to Breconshire. Of 
that, at least, you and I can be certain. Our tes- 
timony is strong in favor of Bagot in the case of 
Churchill.” 

44 But you spoke of an invention. What more 
likely than that Bagot should have a small ex- 
perimental balloon to which he could attach a body 
but no car? I am hazy in my knowledge of aeronau- 
tics, but I believe it would be an easy matter to cal- 
324 


Bagofs Flight 

culate weights and gas pressures in such a way that 
a heavy body would detach itself after a certain time 
and fall, while the liberated balloon would soar off 
for hundreds of miles. Really, Bagot did his kill- 
ing artistically. By this time next week, Elinor, I 
shall be famous not only throughout Great Britain, 
but all over the wide world.” 

“ Why? ” 

“ Am I not the chief witness against him ? Even 
now the evidence is meager unless Furneaux has more 
up his sleeve than he has told us.” 

44 Oh, I rely on Mr. Furneaux absolutely. He is 
a marvelous man. It was he who persuaded me to 
offer that money for the lease. He said it would be 
quite safe . . .” 

44 You dear little conspirator ! Is your name Mrs. 
George F. Bates, then?” 

A ghost of a smile flickered on Elinor’s lips. 

44 Mrs. Bates is really acting for me,” she ad- 
mitted. 44 She is in London now, raising the money 
through her solicitors on scrip that I placed under 
her control.” 

44 But tell me, Elinor, what reason had you for 
befriending me — you, who must have been besieged 
by suitors innumerable ? ” 

She blushed a little. Bagot’s grim vision was driven 
temporarily into the background. 

44 You forget,” she said, 44 that I seemed to know 
you quite well long before we met. And it looked 
like the hand of fate when you rescued me from that 
325 


By Force of Circumstances 

mad attempt on Harry’s part to force me into com- 
pliance with his own and his father’s wishes. And — 
and — I have a little confession to make. I couldn’t 
help it, I didn’t mean to listen, but on that first even- 
ing, when I came back to the library after the maid 
had brushed my dress, I heard that dear old man, 
Jenkins, telling you about the Belle Damosel.” 

It was exasperating that they should be sitting 
on the open deck of the yacht, while the crew were 
busily occupied in adjusting cables fore and aft to 
prevent any possibility of accident. 

So Arthur could only whisper intently : 

“ I wish to goodness, Elinor, that Bagot had not 
stained his hands with murder. No matter what other 
crime he had committed I would help him to escape. 
I owe him the crowning happiness of my life. He 
brought us together ! ” 

When the detective returned he appeared to be in 
his usual lively spirits. He had heard from Lawson. 

“ Reads like him, doesn’t it? ” he grinned, spread- 
ing out a telegraphic flimsy. “ I wired, telling him 
my predicament, and asking what Bagot was doing. 
This is what he answered : 4 Feasting at Pinkerton’s.’ 
You always get the right word from Lawson. Feast- 
ing ! Anybody else would have said 6 dining,’ but 
Bagot’s appearance suggests a banquet, with the 
best of wines — not gross, but perfect. Bagot ought 
to have lived in old Rome. One can picture him a 
Napoleonic Nero. By the way, I wired also to Mr. 

326 


Sagot's Flight 

Philip Mowle at Bristol, asking him to bring two 
reliable motor cars to Burnham at 6 a.m.” 

44 Pinkerton’s is no great distance,” said Arthur. 

64 Bagot owns two motors, and I want at least to 
meet him on an equality,” was the dry comment, and 
again there was a reticence about Furneaux’s words 
that suggested anxiety, distrust, almost fear. 

64 Would you mind telling me why you are so pos- 
itive that Mr. Bagot himself, and none other, killed 
those unfortunate men? ” asked Elinor timidly. 

44 1 am positive because I can prove it now,” said 
he. 44 1 knew from the instant I heard Mr. Leigh’s 
story, but I could not prove. My first bit of real 
evidence was the motorist’s cap ; my second, the 
dated bill from the Gas Light and Coke Company 
which reached Mr. Churchill the day he left London. 
Being a methodical old gentleman, he put it among 
his papers so that it should not be forgotten. When 
Bagot killed him in — ” Fumeaux was about to 
say 44 in the summer house ” but Elinor’s pallid cheeks 
stopped him — 44 in the garden at 4 Nielpahar,’ and ex- 
amined his clothes, finding another copy of the plan 
of the passage, he probably thrust back all ordi- 
nary letters and documents hurriedly, meaning that 
Churchill should be identified at once when found. 
But Churchill was a big man, and the dragging of his 
limbs through the grass drew out just that one little 
slip of paper. Then there were the revolvers. Bagot 
owned both. He purchased them eighteen months 
ago in Piccadilly. A 320 bullet was taken from 
327 


By Force of Circumstances 

Dix’s shoulder, the floors and walls at 6 Nielpahar ’ 
were riddled with bullets of 320 caliber, and I found 
two empty cases which Bagot had failed to sweep up 
when hastily removing the traces of the fight and the 
dead body. He had thrown petrol over the summer 
house, meaning to set fire to it when the sun was 
high enough to prevent the flames being seen a 
long way off*. And who else could obtain petrol there ? 
It was stored in the shed, and you heard him boast 
that the doors were guarded by cipher locks. The 
discovery of the balloon and the evidence you listened 
to at Lydney will go far to hang him. Of course, 
if I had not told the local police to inquire for a 
balloonist it would be more difficult.” 

“ But how on earth did you arrive at the balloon 
theory? ” broke in Arthur. 

“ There was no other possible way in which that 
dead man could have been flung on that barge. Look 
at the medical evidence of fractures and bruises in- 
flicted after death. It was either a balloon or 
magic, and we pay no heed to magic in Scotland 
Yard.” 

“ I suppose the loss of that shirt ” began 

Arthur diffidently. 

“ Isn’t so very important,” said Furneaux gra- 
ciously. “ You and I both saw it. We can identify 
others of the same pattern and material, and stamped 
in the same way. Bagot’s advice that it should be 
hidden was a mistake. Extraordinarily cute at the 
time, now it tells against him.” 

328 


Bagofs Flight 

“Will you arrest all the men at Pinkerton’s?” 
asked Elinor, after a pause. 

“ I hope not,” said Furneaux, pausing also before 
he replied. “ Bagot had no accomplices, Miss Hin- 
ton — nothing but dupes, or hirelings, like the French 
chauffeur.” 

The admission seemed to afford her some relief. 
She retired early and visited her stepfather before 
going to her own cabin. A police constable mounted 
guard on the yacht’s deck all night, ostensibly to 
arouse Furneaux in case any telegrams were received 
for him at the Railway station, but really to prevent 
any unauthorized communication with or from the 
shore. 

The yacht was afloat before three o’clock, and an 
early breakfast was served at half-past five. Shortly 
after six they reached Burnham, and there on the 
promenade were Inspector Lawson, Mr. Philip Mowle, 
and two automobiles. Furneaux’s greeting when he 
met his colleague was ominous. 

“ Bird flown ? ” he asked. 

“ Yes,” said the stolid police officer. 

“ How? ” 

“ Doctor was summoned from Bridgewater at mid- 
night to physic that mad Swede, who was suffering 
from an overdose of a narcotic. Nothing really se- 
rious, the doctor said. But Bagot asked him for a 
lift back to the town. The doctor agreed. Just be- 
fore the brougham reached the gate, where I had 
three men posted, Bagot dropped a coin in the bottom 
329 


By Force of Circumstances 

of the carriage, stooped to pick it up, and my men 
saw only the doctor, as Bagot insisted on sitting with 
his back to the horse. Ingenious for a fat man, 
wasn’t it ? ” 

44 Were you there? ” 

44 No. That dodge wouldn’t have tricked me, I 
was so doubtful when I heard of the doctor’s visit 
that I decided to act on my own responsibility. I 
have the others practically under arrest, but Bagot 
is at 4 Nielpahar.’ ” 

44 How did he get there? ” 

44 In a hack from the Bush , quite openly. I was 
after him in an hour, and now there are four men 
stationed at each gate, while others are patrolling 
the roads outside the walls.” 

44 He will slip them,” said Furneaux. 

44 Not in a doctor’s carriage,” said Lawson. 44 1 
admonished them.” 

Mr. Mowle, the solictor, though expecting develop- 
ments, was very greatly surprised when he heard the 
police discussing Bagot as a fugitive criminal. He 
was destined to be shocked much more seriously be- 
fore the day was far advanced. No time was lost 
at Burnham. Elinor, of course, remained on the 
yacht, though it needed some persuasion to keep her 
there. Furneaux and Lawson went off in the first 
car, and Leigh followed with Mowle in the second. 
They sped through Bridgewater and across the Black 
Down country until they neared the Nielpahar 
estate. Here a council of war was held, and it was 
330 


Bagotfs Flight 

decided that Furneaux, Lawson, and six constables 
should climb the gate which Arthur and Elinor 
had surmounted. Leigh and the solicitor were per- 
mitted to watch the attack, but at a distance. Fur- 
neaux was fully persuaded that Bagot would show 
fight; if so, none but officers of the law might call 
on him to surrender. 

Nevertheless, astute as he was, the detective did not 
fathom the full resource of a genius like Bagot. From 
facts ascertained subsequently, it was evident that 
Bagot foresaw this imminent arrest, but waited at 
“ Nielpahar 99 until the police put in an appearance. 
He probably thought it would be foolish to run before 
his liberty was actually threatened. The cordon at 
Pinkerton’s which he had baffled did not constitute 
such a really determined effort by the authorities as 
this invasion of his locked gates by men in uniform. 
Now there could be no room for doubt. He must 
either oppose impossible numbers, or kill himself, or 
yield tamely, or fly — and as he was one of the few 
men living who could fly — aerial flight being his only 
absorbing interest — there was no question in his mind 
as to which course to adopt. 

In that supreme hour it may well be conceived how 
Bagot, white-faced, but utterly self-possessed and 
confident, watched the police crossing the park and 
spreading out fanwise as they neared the house. He 
could not see the entrance from his perch at a small 
window high in the roof of the lofty shed, but it 
must have been easy to judge from the behavior of 
331 


By Force of Circumstances 

the men standing on the lawns and among the shrubs 
that their comrades were searching every inch in the 
dwelling. 

At last Furneaux reappeared. How Bagot’s eyes 
must have glinted when he saw his enemy near at 
hand, and pointing to the shed! Happily the man 
was no sportsman, and did not own a rifle, or it is 
possible that a fresh series of murders might have 
sullied the beauty of a delightful day. Elinor said 
once that Bagot meant to transform the Nielpahar 
estate into an earthly Paradise, which is a common 
form of speech when one wishes to limn a charming 
garden, embosomed in verdant lawns and shielded 
from the outer world by tall trees and moss-grown 
walls. Well, if that dream of Bagot’s had been ful- 
filled, it might have avoided a great deal of misery 
and wrongdoing. But he neglected his Paradise, 
and now the protectors of an outraged community 
were marching to his last retreat over the rank 
grasses and weed-choked turf. 

The wind, which still blew steadily from a southerly 
quarter, had swung round a little to the east. This 
was important. If Bagot had a balloon concealed 
among the trees, and they suddenly saw him soaring 
up into the cloudless sky, he would be compelled to 
cross sixty or seventy miles of sea before he reached 
land again on the southwest corner of Wales. It was 
evident that no monstrous globe could shoot out from 
the neighborhood of the shed. Though the structure 
was fifty feet in height, and windowless throughout 
332 


Bagotfs Flight 

its gaunt walls of corrugated iron, it had a heavy 
sloping roof, solid enough, and pierced here and 
there by attics to admit light. 

That Furneaux was dreading some startling move 
on Bagot’s part was shown, however, by scraps 
of a conversation between him and Constable Jones 
which reached Arthur when he pressed rather closely 
on their heels. 

“ Sure you threw that engine out of gear, 
Jones? ” 

44 Quite certain, sir.” 

44 Unscrewed both suction valves ? 99 

44 Yes, sir. They’re in my house now.” 

44 And the other thing, the big box-kite — what of 
that? ” 

44 1 couldn’t make that out at all, sir. Its carriage 
traveled on rails, I thought ; but of such a steepness 
. . . worse than a cliff tramway. . . . And they 
stop at the door.” 

44 No engine there? ” 

44 Something wrapped in a sheet. Couldn’t get 
up. It wasn’t a body — far too small.” 

Furneaux broke into a run. They all ran. There 
was nothing to be seen but the square, ugly shed, 
so utterly out of place in this wilderness of rioting 
greenery. Its giant doors faced them blankly, but 
the detective was the first to note that the cipher 
locks hung apart. 

44 Ah ! ” he breathed. 44 He is within ! ” 

Still running, he heard the hum of an engine, dron- 
333 


By Force of Circumstances 

ing like some Goliath of bees. He glanced at Jones, 
and the policeman understood. 

44 Impossible ! ” he gasped. 44 Couldn’t get ’em 
made in the time . . . unless he had spare parts. 
And see. . . . That is the exhaust!” 

The pipe to which he pointed was noiseless and 
vaporless. 

They were quite near now. Furneaux, active, 
eager, filled with the lust of the chase, took the lead. 
Next to him ran Arthur, who could have outstripped 
him, but was already disobeying orders in being so 
near. 

With a final leap, the detective was at the double 
door, hammering with his fists, trying to pull the two 
leaves asunder, and shouting: 

44 In the King’s name, Bagot! Open the door! 
No use trying to resist the King ! ” 

Both heavy sections of oak paneling swung quickly 
outward. Each was twenty-five feet high and fifteen 
feet wide, and their combined circular sweep was 
irresistible. Furneaux was pushed back, and nearly 
fell; Arthur just stopped in time; a couple of po- 
licemen moving on the flanks were thrown to the 
ground. 

In the dim interior those who stood directly in 
front caught a glimpse of two steel rails that curved 
from the threshold right to the top of ,the rear 
wall. Up there, surrounded by a spidery framework 
that carried silken wings, was Bagot. He resembled 
some monster moth, poised for flight. The sight 
334 , 


Bagot 3 s Flight 

of him made Furneaux hysterical. His voice cracked 
to a shriek. 

“ No use, Bagot ! ... In the King’s name. . . . 
I have a warrant. . . .” 

44 Out of my way, little man ! ” shouted Bagot tri- 
umphantly, and the airship swooped, so swiftly, so 
gracefully, that it seemed barely to touch its steel 
supports. Nor did it even touch them during more 
than half the descent. It gathered speed with the 
ease and instant perfection of motion displayed by 
a swallow leaving its nest. With a soft flutter of 
the silk planes and the purr of a free-running motor, 
it sprang into the air while yet ten feet from the 
ground. When it passed Furneaux it was rising, 
and he, with all the others, saw its pilot pluck a re- 
volver from his breast. Bagot’s object was plain 
enough. He hoped that a chance shot might free 
him for ever of the CEdipus who had solved his 
puzzle. 

But that same Constable Jones, who, said Bagot 
not so long ago, might stare at his invention for a 
year 44 and make neither head nor tail of it,” had 
a hobby, and his hobby was mechanics. During off 
hours at Bridgewater he was never so happy as when 
tinkering at engines ; he understood and loved the 
whirr of living wheels and pistons ; so now, before 
the doors were opened, his ears had told him that the 
44 something wrapped in a sheet,” which he noticed 
during the search for a body, was an engine. It 
must be a very small one, but he had read of horse- 
335 


By Force of Circumstances 

power pent within limits of weight marvelous beyond 
belief to one who had never examined any machine 
more concentrated than an ordinary steam-engine. 
He knew, too, how delicate such creations must be — 
transcending all common bounds in strength, yet 
fragile as a lady’s watch, and as ready to resent 
rough treatment by sulky stoppage. 

When Bagot shouted that contemptuous order to 
Furneaux, Jones pulled forth a pair of handcuffs and 
poised them in readiness for a throw. His design 
was to hit the engine, and trust to luck for effect, but 
when he caught sight of the raised pistol he flung the 
steel missile not at the machine, but at the man. The 
handcuffs struck Bagot’s arm, there was a loud re- 
port, a harmless bullet sped somewhere, and the steel 
bands, with their connecting chain and swivel, fell 
among the whirling limbs of the motor. 

Furneaux knew nothing of this. He was dancing 
in a very paroxysm of rage, and yelling in a weird 
falsetto: 

“Bring you back from the moon, Bagot. . . . 
Can’t escape. . . . Hang you yet, Bagot ! ” nor did 
he strive to dodge and cower when the weapon was 
pointed, but continued to gibber at his flying 
quarry like one whose reason was momentarily 
unhinged. 

Nevertheless, he and every other man there did not 
fail to observe that Bagot’s gratified leer at their 
dismay as he swept past seemed hardly to be borne 
out by his subsequent actions. He threw away his 
336 


Bagofs Flight 

weapon, tore madly at a lever, stooped forward, and 
began to rummage among the cranks and cylinders 
with both hands. The propeller, an unbroken circle 
one instant, slowed into revolving but distinctly sep- 
arate blades the next. So great was the impetus al- 
ready attained by the aeroplane that it rose with a 
magnificent sweep when its broad wings met the 
steady thrust of the wind. 

Up and up it mounted, seeming to disdain alike 
the laws of flight and gravity. No bird could have 
achieved that wonderful upward parabola against the 
wind. The tallest trees and the topmost chimneys of 
the mansion were dwarfed by that one, long-sustained 
effort of the rigid pinions. 

Then, at a height variously estimated between two 
hundred and five hundred feet, the aeroplane lurched, 
toppled over sideways, and began to fall. 

Almost noiseless in its governed progress, it 
screamed aloud now that it was wounded to death. 
The silk planes, tilted to unstable angles, whistled 
and sobbed as they cleft the heedless breeze. A bel- 
low of fear and agony came faintly through the in- 
creasing uproar as the crippled machine plunged 
headlong to earth. Once it lurched violently, and a 
heavy body, with arms and legs sprawling, was shot 
straight down. It struck the ground first, some yards 
away from the place where the aeroplane crashed 
itself into a twisted and shapeless mass. 

Inspector Lawson, unconscious word artist, de- 
scribed the incident pithily. 

337 


By Force of Circumstances 

“ Bagot fell like a dead crow, but the airship came 
back with wind and sound,” said he. 

“ Well, we have all recovered our senses now,” 
chirped Furneaux, when three inquests were ended, 
and he had accepted Leigh’s invitation to pass a 
quiet week-end at the Abbey while he wrote a detailed 
and confidential report of recent events in the Bridge- 
water district. 

“ I suppose so,” said Arthur gloomily. 

“ Why doubt? I thought it was only the fair sex 
who are uncertain, coy, and hard to please, yet you 
must be all these and more if you are not surfeited 
with last month’s adventures.” 

“ I wish Bagot had not been killed,” growled 
Arthur. 

“ But that is unkind. He died in the moment of 
victory. I am assured that his wonderful engine would 
have driven the aeroplane to France, or to any other 
country so long as he could procure petrol. I ad- 
mired Bagot. I revere his memory ; but he was built 
on too colossal a scale to dwell in the world of to-day. 
He ought to have lived when those great beasts you 
see in stone in museums were prowling about. Why, 
then, desire for such a genius the slow torture of the 
assizes ? ” 

“ It is not that. Of course, he had to be stopped 
one way or another, but while he was on earth he 
magnetized those who came in contact with him; we 
were either madly wise or insanely stupid; we were 
338 


Bagofs Flight 

swayed hither and thither by currents of some tre- 
mendous force that exuded from the man; our nerves 
were on a raw edge. At any rate, we lived.” 

Furneaux laid down a scribbling pad and pencil, 
and took from his coat pocket the somewhat damaged 
cigar which had replaced its crumbled predecessor. 
He sniffed it twice before he said: 

44 Some of us jolly near died.” 

Leigh did not answer. His troubled eyes sought 
the blue line of the Bristol Channel above the trees, 
and the detective watched him with an amused smile. 

44 Let us analyze,” he said at last. 44 You have 
found your grandfather’s money, and Mowle is 
arranging the mortgage settlement with Dix and 
Churchill’s heirs?” 

“ Yes.” 

46 And every cat, dog, rabbit, and ferret that was 
not worthwhile keeping alive has been chloroformed? ” 

Arthur consigned cats, dogs, rabbits, and ferrets 
to an impossible future. 

44 Exactly. And Miss Hinton is well rid of worth- 
less relatives in the pair she has pensioned off since 
they were no longer able to rob her under Bagot’s 
tuition? ” 

44 That is true enough,” said Leigh angrily. 

44 It is so true that I am deliberately glossing over 
Harry Hinton’s cooperation with Bagot’s schemes in 
meeting both Dix and Churchill and bringing them 
to 4 Nielpahar ’ on the plea that his sister wished to 
see them before they met you ? ’ ? snapped Furneaux, 


By Force of Circumstances 

44 Well, they are gone — carrying the mad Petersen 
with them. They will trouble her no more.” 

64 And Miss Hinton is well and happy on board 
her yacht, and enjoying the society of her trusted 
friends? ” 

44 Look here, Furneaux, I know your ways,” cried 
Arthur, with some show of heat. 44 Why goad me 
in this fashion? You are the last man to need telling 
that it is on Miss Hinton’s account I am worried. 
Before Bagot’s death we were good as engaged. 
Now ” 

44 Now,” broke in Furneaux , 44 you want her to fling 
herself into your arms and cry 4 Arthur, I am yours.’ 
She isn’t that sort of girl. Good Lord, man, be off 
and win her! Sitting here and mooning will accom- 
plish nothing. By Jove, if I were in your shoes 
I wouldn’t give her so much time to think.” 

That roused Arthur. He sprang up and went 
to the window. Furneaux grinned, and resumed 
his writing. Leigh sauntered out. Five minutes 
later the detective heard a dogcart being driven 
furiously down the hill. 

44 He felt the spur that time,” said he. 44 Expects 
a girl like her to do all the courting, does he? Well, 
he’s mistaken. There’s something in heredity, after 
all. That old curmudgeon up there knew so little 
about women that he thought he could keep them 
out of this house for ever. His grandson takes after 
him, at any rate where lack of knowledge is con- 
cerned.” 


m 


Bagot’s Flight 

And Furneaux glared vindictively at Rollaston 
Leigh’s portrait before he began to write again. He 
wrote steadily for two hours. Then he yawned, 
put his cigar under his nose, and strolled into the 
garden. He was gazing fixedly at the gargoyle when 
Jenkins hailed him familiarly, the pair having become 
great friends. 

“ Note for you, Mr. Furneaux,” cried the butler. 

“ What’s up now? ” cried the detective, who recog- 
nized Arthur’s handwriting. He read: 


“ You are right, as usual. Wedding fixed for 20th 
of next month. You really are a brick. Elinor says 
you must come and dine to-night, seven sharp. Send- 
ing dogcart. — A. L.” 


Furneaux pursed his lips and gazed at Jenkins in 
silence. 

“Anything wrong with the master?” asked the 
old man anxiously. 

“ No. Just the opposite. Banns and bells, Jen- 
kins, iced cake and champagne, treats for school- 
children and aged poor. Seems to me, though, that 
Scotland Yard ought to participate in the festivities. 
Bless my soul, what would they have done if it hadn’t 
been for me? But come in, my old buck, let’s cele- 
brate ! I’m off duty to-day, and I want to drink to 
the health of the Belle Damosel.” 

“Oh, is that it?” cried Jenkins, with an air of 
341 


By Force of Circumstances 

vast relief. “ I knew that long afore I saw you, 
Mr. Furneaux. When a real live Abbot took the 
trouble hundreds of years ago to make a verse about 
Leigh’s lady, it ain’t likely he would be mistaken, now 


is it? ” 


iz-H 



m a . 


/V/ A 


THE END 


342 




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